Fidelis Mucro
by Blue Lone Wolf 2574
Summary: Shepard and the crew come across a strange ship and a puzzling stranger still aboard the wreckage. Can this person be trusted? Just what is this person hiding? Or are the horrors of the past fast approaching? FemShepxGarrus pairing. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1: Perspective

Hey all! Blue here for my very first '_Mass Effect_' fic. I'm really proud of this moment since it's taken me a while to catch up with everyone else. But enough of that, for now at least. On to what we're all here for! I own nothing save the copies of the games, the books and one day… a Garrus plushie. Cuz I want him to be mine dammit! Enjoy!

"Iii" = speech

"_Iii_" = tele/radio speech

_Iii_ = thought

Chapter 1: Perspective

Commander Hayden Shepard couldn't help but rub some of the oncoming sleep from her eyes of silver-grey, a few strands of her chin-length brown hair doing little to fight off the bright glow of the Galaxy Map. She'd been standing there for what felt like days when she was damn sure it was hours. Hell, she half expected her boyfriend and lover, Garrus Vakarian to come up from the gun batteries to drag her to her—no _their_ she corrected herself—quarters for some well earned rest. But last she checked, their platinum supply was still too low for her liking and she'd already gone through ten different planets looking for more. And so far, the most she'd gotten was some palladium, a shitload of iridium and very little element zero. Not the best hunt she'd ever had but at least it was something for her efforts, especially having to tell EDI, the ship's AI to shoot probes over and over. It was starting to get a bit tedious. Not to mention annoying when the female voiced computer kept announcing the launch of each pod. If not for the still warm mug of coffee in her hand, she would've been bored out of her mind at having done nothing but mine for resources for the past few hours.

Kelly Chambers, her bright eyed redhead of a yeoman, had yet to say anything to her about her excessive work ethic, but Hayden could feel the woman's cool green eyes on her back as she mused over the surfaced of her eleventh planet. Sipping the dark brew, Hayden lazily let EDI send probes to a few more elemental hotspots before her brain told her she was officially bored of what she was doing. Swiftly and easily she exited the Galaxy Map, letting the hologram become the oddly orange model of her ship as she stepped down from the platform to head towards the elevator.

"Get some rest Kelly."

"Thanks! And you too Commander." The bubbly redhead practically exclaimed with a smile. Her perky personality had its advantages sometimes.

Hayden just nodded, smiling at the redhead as the door shut before her, the gears slowly taking her up to her quarters. By now, Hayden was sure that Garrus had, most likely, beaten her there. Entering only to find the room was dark save for the light from the fish tank, not stopping her from setting her mug down on her desk. Her private terminal blinked to life at her proximity but she ignored it. Right now, all she was interested in was a nice, warm shower and a long night's sleep next to the only man that mattered to her. Her pre-bed activities only lasted about five to seven minutes, quickly drying her hair of any residual moisture before tossing the small towel to a chair she was sure was somewhere in the dark. With the blue glow of the fish tank to help her, Hayden noted that Garrus was, very much indeed, already in her bed. And for once in their relationship, he was already asleep. Staring at his slumbering form, she couldn't help but smile. He'd been working as hard as she had for the past few weeks. Fighting down a chuckle at her mate, Hayden slipped under the covers, bringing her pale arms around him from behind as she pressed her face into his back. It only took her a few seconds to sigh in contentment.

Until she felt him move that is. Surprised, the woman almost let go only to find his equally thin arms wrapped around her, the scarred side of his face rubbing against her skin as he whispered a bit too sexually into her sensitive ear. "Gotcha."

Hayden couldn't help but chuckle, his skin touching hers easily waking her up again as she whispered back. "You, Garrus Vakarian, are a naughty boy."

"Only around you." He said, pulling back so that their eyes could meet, her silver-grey and his cerulean blue. "Up a little late weren't you?"

The woman in his grip just rolled her eyes, as humans he'd found, were prone to do when asked what they deemed the obvious. "Garrus, I just got here. I think it's safe to say I stopped working a while ago."

"True, but it's still pretty late. And I do distinctly remember someone lecturing me about working too hard. 'Work myself to death' I think your words were." He stated, sounding smug at his own wit.

Hayden groaned. As much as she loved him, she didn't want to have this conversation right now. But she just smiled at him, his crystal blue eyes watching her like a predator that'd just found the perfect prey. As their eyes met, she could see the fire in them. Nuzzling her nose against his face, her mouth rubbing suggestively against one of his mandibles, her eyes didn't even waver as she spoke. "I guess it all depends on whether or not you were a good boy or not now doesn't it?"

"You're such a tease." He stated, his flanged voice low and husky. She could only grin to herself. She knew exactly which buttons to push.

"Only around you." Hayden whispered, her warm breath coming in contact with his rough skin, making the turian shiver. Most likely in anticipation was her guess.

This time he chuckled, the sound low and reverberated through his chest, making her even more heated than before. He pulled back to look her right in the eyes, on arm around her waist while the other stroked her cheek. "Careful Shepard. You just might go too far. Back yourself into a corner you can't get out of if you keep it up like this."

"Oh? And what's stopping me? You? Mr. 'I'm Not A Good Turian'?" she said, smiling triumphantly at him, chuckling at his feigned pout.

"My, aren't we feisty tonight? Did something good happen?" Garrus couldn't help but ask. Hayden was rarely like this unless she was in a really good mood.

"Yeah." Her voice brought him out of his thoughts, her lips placing a chaste kiss on his own, taking him by surprise. "You hugged me."

Blinking at this information, Garrus quickly recovered. The face he put on only told her he was about to get devious on her. "Well then! Maybe I should hug you more often."

"Slow down big fella. Only on our off hours. Like now." She said coolly, using her free arm to bring him closer to her, wiggling innocently, earning her another groan of well-reigned pleasure.

His voice had come down another octave when he spoke, not hesitating to attack her neck with playful nibbles of affection. "Definitely like now." His mandibles quivered at sudden moan at his actions, smiling to himself as he went on. "Miss me?"

"Terribly. You?" the woman slowly falling under his spell managed to say, her breathing becoming deeper, longer. Plus she was holding him pretty tightly.

"Like a missing piece of myself." Garrus whispered just loud enough for the translator to pick up, his three fingered hands seeming to be all over the place. Suddenly one of them was under her shirt and dancing across the skin of her back and spine, his attention having come to her collarbone. Shifting so that he was above her had been easy enough, his soft touch and light kisses sending his love into a state of pure bliss.

"Garrus." She whispered, her voice soft and breaking in the pleasure he was sending her into with his constant attentions.

"Yes?" he inquired, his tone still smug as he turned his attention to her stomach. An area where, he'd long since discovered, she was most sensitive, especially when he wasn't even trying.

"Don't stop." He heard her moan, her body arching, their forms connecting and melding in blossoms of warmth, despite their clothing being in the way.

"I don't plan to." Garrus stated calmly, coolly, making her shiver. He was on a roll and there was nothing-. The comm. suddenly beeped, the source coming from the nightstand. Garrus shut his eyes. This wasn't happening. Only it beeped again, the noise seeming more urgent.

_Dammit._ His growl rumbled from deep in his throat and chest as he pressed on. Like hell a mission was going to ruin their moment. "Don't answer that."

Blinking at the distraction, Hayden's eyes were already losing their passionate fire, her mind trying to piece itself back together. "Garrus I-."

"Just let it ring. It's probably not that important." He didn't mean to sound angry, since she winced at his words. Calming himself for a second, he spoke again, this time choosing his words carefully. "When was the last time we got some real alone time? Really? Just ignore it."

Hayden just quirked an eyebrow, giving him a look that only told him one thing: he'd dug himself into a hole, and there was no way out. Garrus was sure his mandibles were twitching nervously without his knowledge. "And just who is the commanding officer here?" she asked, staring him right in the eye. Sighing and burying his face into her shoulder, Garrus mumbled something, only making the woman speak again. This time her voice was smug as hell. "Hmm? I didn't hear you."

Lifting his head a little, he finally admitted. "You are."

"And who decides whether we go on missions or not?" she asked, a hand lightly gripping the back of his head to make him look at her again.

Holding back another sigh, Garrus couldn't hide his disappointment. "You do."

"That's right. So if I answer, and decide it's a waste of time, we can keep going. If it really is something urgent, then you," she said smiling, giving him a light kiss on the nose as her eyes looked into his. "My dear and beloved turian can finally be rewarded for your good behavior at a different time. Deal?"

This time Garrus couldn't help but sigh, wondering when the hell he was ever going to win these discussions. "Do I have a choice?"

She was smiling at him, the expression almost too cheerful for his tastes. "Always. I'm just not going to give you any."

Garrus simply grunted, biting down a bitter chuckle as Hayden pulled away from him to press the comm. button on the nightstand. "And here I thought I was the mean one."

Ignoring him, Hayden's voice suddenly turned professional. "What is it Joker?"

"_Something weird just popped up on sensors Commander. EDI says it's a ship but even I'm not sure what the hell it is. Just thought you might want to know._" Their ever sarcastic pilot Jeffery 'Joker' Moreau stated over the intercom, his voice echoing in the silence of the loft.

Hayden had to turn to look at Garrus, her face etched with confusion. "Are you sure it's not a space station?"

Joker's voice seemed to convey his concerns. "_No ma'am. It's too oddly shaped to be a station, but it's not moving for it to be a ship. Plus its configuration doesn't fit anything we have on record._"

"I'm guessing that's not all." Hayden pondered, eyeing the ceiling as she sat back onto the bed pillows.

"_You guessed right. As far as we know, nobody's supposed to be posted out here. And no governments have record of having a station this far into the Terminus Systems._" Joker paused, not sure what to do or say. "_What's the plan Commander?_"

"How long until we reach its location?" she asked, eyeing Garrus, who was simply watching her with as much patience as his turian pride could muster.

They heard Joker fiddle with some of the screens on his end before he spoke, sounding a little unsure of his own estimates. "_Oh… roughly twenty minutes. We didn't even know it existed until we were almost on top of it. Your orders?_"

"Take us in low and slow Joker. We don't want to spook anyone who might be on board. And you're sure that it's not moving?" she had to ask. For all they knew it was some new and improved Collector ship. That was an adventure she didn't want to repeat.

"_It's a sitting duck Commander. The damned thing isn't even giving off a mass effect field for cryin' out loud._" They heard Joker retort, his tone showing he was somewhat insulted.

Hayden nodded, then seemed to remember that Joker couldn't see her. "Call Grunt and tell him to meet me and Garrus at the airlock in fifteen minutes. Shepard out."

The two let the comm. shut itself off, sitting in the silence for a moment before Garrus finally spoke up, sounding just as confused as the pilot had been. "Did I hear him right? It's not a station but it's not a ship either? That doesn't make much sense." He glanced at her, blue eyes taking in her thoughtful gaze into the darkness of the room. "So does this mean I get to kill something for ruining our moment?"

This witty statement seemed enough to make her smirk with a low laugh, her silver-grey eyes turning on him with amusement dancing in their depths. "Not so fast hotshot. You'll get your chance to shoot a few things. But only on my order you got it?"

The double implication immediately clicked in Garrus's head, making him glad he couldn't blush, otherwise he'd be beet red. Instead he let his mandibles flutter in a turian smile as he nodded. He was about to rise from his position next to her when he felt a hand come out of nowhere against his shoulder, forcing him back down. Caught off guard, Garrus didn't know he was being kissed until Hayden's lips touched his, her tongue, the sinful thing, was pushing for entrance. Quickly enraptured in the action, his hands were roving up and down her back as they fought for control of the kiss. Eventually, like in most things, she won.

Finally pulling away, breathless and hungry for more but not daring to do so, Garrus's blue eyes searched her silver-grey. "What was that for?"

She smiled back, her face a little pink as he breath came in warm pants against the sensitive skin of his face. "That was to seal our deal. I can't go against my honor breaking promises now can I? Especially if it's to a turian of considerable pride."

"Of course Commander. I'd hate for you to tarnish your honor by going back on your word. Especially if it's to a prideful turian like myself." He said smugly, this time kissing her, with a gentle tenderness he'd been careful to perfect before pulling away. Only this time his own voice serious and professional. "Shall we get ready then?"

Her smile, kind and filled with love, made both his heart and mandibles flutter. Just all the other times it'd done before. "That we shall."

Less than ten minutes later, both were in their respective armors, checking their weapons as the elevator lazily brought them down a level to the CIC. Kelly gave them a nod of acknowledgment, though her eyes sparked likely with thoughts about their 'activities'. But the redhead knew better than to voice it. Though it was likely that the whole damn crew knew about the two of them by now, they had enough respect for their commander and her companion to keep it to themselves. Whenever she was around of course. Coming up behind Joker to look out the large windows, Garrus couldn't help but go slack jawed at the sight before them: the large structure was long and sleek, its metal a dull grey with markings painted on that he was sure no one recognized. Various rows of square holes, some dark, others radiating light, gave the impression of windows. Its design had some semblance to the _Normandy_, only it was fuller, wider and larger. Plus the stern was built differently to suggest it was neither of human or turian design. Joker had been right, this ship wasn't like any they'd seen before. From what he could tell, they were slowly circling it.

"EDI, what's the status of that thing?" he heard Shepard ask, bringing him out of his thoughts as they both looked at the blue orb for answers.

In her almost monotone synthesized voice, EDI didn't waste time responding. "As you can see Commander, it is clearly a ship. But the design and markings do not match any in our current databases. All I can say is this ship is stagnant. And silent."

Confusion suddenly became the word of the day as Hayden gave the holographic orb a look of extreme puzzlement. "Silent? What's that mean?"

If the AI was annoyed, her voice didn't show it. "I mean silent. As in inactive. Thus far I've yet to get any real scans of the ship's interior, but just enough to say the ship is empty of any life signs. Save one."

"There's somebody still on board? Where?" Hayden may as well have demanded. Her concern for someone else's well-being was one of the reasons Garrus had been attracted and intrigued by her.

"Likely the area that may be the ship's engine room, though I've no true schematics of this vessel to know for certain. But life support aboard the ship appears to be deactivated and the life sign is very faint. I'm not sure that person will last much longer." The AI said almost matter-of-factly, blue lights lazily moving across its 'face'.

Turning to Joker, Hayden's voice was level when she spoke. "Bring us alongside and find us an entry point. That survivor might have some answers for us. Anything else EDI?"

"Indeed Shepard. It would seem that all but the hallways are heavily shielded against my scanning capabilities. I will be able to lead you to the survivor, but nowhere else."

"How heavily shielded?" Garrus said suddenly, a little surprised at himself for cutting Hayden off, but she didn't comment as EDI spoke up again.

"I'm not certain. Only that the compartments are composed of a light material that shields them from my scans. Analysis of the material is inconclusive. I can only sense the survivor due to the fact the doors to that compartment are ajar."

"Making it able for you to see inside. It'll have to do. We probably shouldn't open every door but it's better than nothing." Hayden mused, turning her attention back to Joker, whose hands were moving across his console with practiced speed. "Any sign of an airlock door?"

"Nothing yet." He grumbled, looking out the window only to do a double take. Green eyes went wide as he took in the sight outside. "Uh…Commander?"

"What?" she said, soon following his gaze only to whisper in shock. "Oh god!"

The Normandy had circled around the ship only to find the port side had been heavily battered and damaged. Scorch marks the size of cars marked the metal shell, a large hole ranging likely in over fifteen feet was sending up random sparks of loose electricity into the openness of space. Whatever had happened, it was definitely over now. It also explained why all the ship's systems were down and the engines weren't working. As they passed the stern, they couldn't help but see that one of the thrusters had been completely destroyed, some debris still barely connected to the rest of the ship. Either way, this ship was literally dead in the water. All could only stare in shock at the damage the large structure had been dealt. Even a few of the 'windows' they'd seen on the other side of the ship appeared to be broken, the rooms they looked into likely cut off for safety reasons. Coming back around to the undamaged side, there was no way their minds could erase their new thoughts on the derelict ship.

"Are you sure that there aren't any other survivors EDI?" Garrus heard her barely able to say. If he were anything like a human, he was sure that his jaw would be on the floor. His mandibles just fluttered in agitation instead.

"Quite certain. Various parts of the ship have suggested that all life pods have been ejected though scans show no signs of them. It is likely that whoever is in the engine room stayed behind for another reason. I'm attempting to activate the ship's docking subroutine so that you may get aboard Shepard." EDI said coolly. Nearly all the people in the cockpit refrained from rolling their eyes at the AI's lack of emotion.

Instead Hayden simply nodded at the blue orb, eying the damaged ship in a fashion that Garrus was starting to dislike. "Do your best EDI. If you can't, we'll take the shuttle and find the cargo bays of this thing."

"Understood Shepard."

It took a few minutes for the AI to find the right subroutine in the ship's programming, a walkway activating and extending from the undamaged starboard side as Joker easily eased alongside it. The loud click of the docking clamps safely securing themselves followed not long after, Shepard, Garrus and Grunt walking through with full gear and helmets. Once at the other end, the doors opened with a familiar hiss, revealing an empty intersection with the lights off, some flickering almost eerily in the silence. The most their eyes could see were random things like a metallic coffee mug, the liquid it contained floating midair and freely thanks to the lack of gravity. There was even what looked like a data pad, only it looked partially shattered and useless as they walked past where it hung without support.

Looking left and then right, Shepard tapped the side of her helmet to activate the radio build inside. "Where to EDI?"

As expected, the AI's calm voice sounded into their ears. "_Continue down the hall and take a left, following it to a right. There should be a lift to take you down several decks to the engine room, as well as the survivor._"

"You sure there're no other survivors?" Hayden inquired, her concern for leaving unknown numbers of people behind seeming to gnaw at her.

Garrus was pleased to see the tension come out of her shoulders when the AI spoke up once more. "_Quite certain. No activity has been detected in the thirty-six minutes I've been scanning this vessel. All but the survivor, who remains in engineering are gone._"

As they were about to move forward, the young krogan suddenly turned, his shotgun in hand as he pointed it at a doorway. If not for his helmet, both Garrus and Hayden were sure his blue eyes were darting around the small space that held his attention. When he finally stood down on his own, Shepard spoke up. "What's wrong Grunt? You're not usually this jumpy."

The giant alien just shook his head, his voice telling them his annoyance. "It's nothin'. Just thought I saw something over there. It's gone now though."

Nodding in understanding to this explanation, Hayden didn't hesitate. "Keep a sharp eye out for anything else. Whatever's going on here, we need to get the survivor and get out of here before whatever attacked this ship comes back."

"Roger." Grunt said almost in disappointment. Clearly he was practically begging for a fight to break out.

Garrus nodded when she looked at him. "You got it Commander."

"Move out."

The three moved through the halls, silent but watchful, their flashlights lighting the way through the darkness that surrounded them. And the eerie void of life wasn't helping their rising tension either. Doors, similar again to the _Normandy_'s, whooshed open as they went, revealing more empty halls and dark spaces when they did. As EDI had said, they took the predicted right to find a door slightly different than all the others, its holographic panel active but flickered as it tried to remain in place. Fiddling with it only took a few minutes, both Grunt and Garrus watching the hallway behind them as their female commander used her omni-tool to get the door to open. Once it beeped and allowed them to pass, what they found inside lying on the floor was easily beyond unusual. Only it wasn't a body or even a mummified corpse: it was a small crate of some kind, the lid connected by a single hinge but empty, its sides and lid dented. Likely by a force that none of them had seen before. It almost look it'd taken biotic damage, the power behind it likely of much greater than any had seen the like of. Either way, the sight of it was unusual but something they could ignore as Shepard was once again fiddling with the console on the elevator's wall. Most of the symbols on it were hard to read or even illegible, others were just outright unknown to them. But they found, that with some smart tweaking, the symbols on the holographic console, glowing a light blue in the dark, could be changed to English. There was no time to find this odd since their mission took priority. Within seconds, the elevator clicked and ground to life, the light overhead flickering as the doors shut and the thing began to move.

The ride only took around two minutes, mostly since the thing seemed to struggle just to function despite being undamaged. This thought changed when they finally got to the engineering deck… and found it an utter mess. Scorch marks were all over the walls, bulkheads even blasted almost to oblivion. Debris was floating like oversized dust everywhere, wires dangling from the ceiling, floor tiles cracked and broken. Some of the wires were sending random sparks of power into the open air, a light fixture flickering on and off as it hung half suspended by the lack of gravity and its own wiring. Some parts of the hallway looked like they'd been sliced open with an unknown blade or claw. A few looked ragged and rough, others clean and neat in a rather disturbing way.

"What the hell happened here?" Hayden's voice came almost in a whisper over the radio, conveying her shock at the sight of the place.

If not for his helmet, Garrus was sure that anyone would've seen his mandibles twitching with agitation as he fingered his rifle. "Somehow I think it's more 'who' rather than 'what' Commander."

Nodding almost half-mindedly at his comment, she spoke a little louder so that she was easier to hear. "EDI, how's our survivor doing?"

"_There has been no change in their condition Shepard. Though I would recommend haste in this matter. I'm uncertain they will last if you continue to delay._" The AI informed them, though it sounded like it was anxious for some reason.

"Any other pieces of advice?"

For a moment, there was silence. Then it spoke again. "_Yes: do what you can to avoid any cut wiring. My scans show the power output on the level you're on is likely ten times more powerful than any standard installation. My estimates show extensive neural and physical damage if you make contact with any 'live wire'._"

"Right, look but don't touch. Anything else?"

"_Indeed. The survivor is moving._" The AI stated calmly, though its tone told them the computer was confused.

Both aliens saw Hayden tense, her voice showing her surprise. "What? I thought you said there was no change!"

"_In their health, as you'd requested before, but not in their positioning within the room itself or near it. The survivor is still in the room, but is likely attempting escape or some other activity. Haste is still highly recommended._"

A low growl came over the comm. but Hayden seemed intent on keeping her frustration at the AI to herself. "Keep us posted EDI."

"_Of course Shepard._" Said AI agreed as calmly as before, the connection clicking off in their ears.

"Let's move!"

Both aliens nodded as she moved forward, ducking under the broken light and pushing away floating debris like they were smoke blocking her vision. Like the rest of the ship, this hallway was just as dark and creepy as the last one they'd been in. Grunt was starting to get annoyed that nothing had popped out to attack them, Garrus was glad for the lack of inactivity for once while Shepard continued as if nothing were wrong. As if the ship weren't abandoned and it was just another stroll to a casual destination. This wasn't helping Garrus's nerves in any fashion. Though he was glad for the calm, he couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right about the whole thing.

_Spirits this could turn bad. Why aren't there any dead bodies? Who was fighting who and why? And what's up with the strange language from that console back there? Something smells… what was the human term? Fishy?_ Kicking the thoughts to the back of his mind, Garrus kept silent as he gripped his rifle, both eyes darting at closed doors and corners as they finally came across a door, its holographic console flickering in and out of existence. As EDI had said, the door was slightly open, some sparks and loose wires suggesting the door was damaged and was likely stuck in its position. Her omni-tool glowing to life on her arm, Garrus watched Hayden attempt to get the door open, giving her a look when she muttered a curse under her breath when the door didn't respond. After a few more tries, he could tell she'd had about enough of the damned thing. Just before she could screech at the thing in her anger, he quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, making her turn on him. The fire in her eyes through her helmet made various parts of his body respond in kind, but he fought to keep it to himself.

"Commander." He managed to say in a forcibly calm voice. "Why not let Grunt give it a shot? He's clearly ready for just about anything."

"Fine. Grunt, get this damn door open." Hayden snapped, though most of her anger's bite stayed well within reign.

They both heard the young krogan chuckled darkly, rubbing its small gloved hands together in anticipation of burning energy. "You got it."

Gripping the edges of the doors, Grunt let out a slightly strained growl as he began to force the two panels apart. Once it was halfway open, he stepped in-between them and pushed them further until the visible edges were only a few centimeters of metal.

Nodding in approval, Hayden's voice showed her appreciation to the krogan's strength where tech had failed. "Hm. Good call. Let's move."

Only just as soon as they'd walked into the room, Garrus immediately noticed something coming flying at them, his brain registering it as another crate. But this crate's momentum was practically monstrous. Acting on instinct rather than impulse, he didn't hesitate to grab Hayden by the back of her armor as he jumped behind a computer console shouting. "Watch out!"

"Holy-!" Hayden's response was cut off by a grunt as she landed on her side, her pistol somehow already in her hand as she shouted into her radio. "EDI I thought you said the survivor's life signs were weak!"

The comm. clicked to life, EDI's voice coming in a slightly concerned tone. "_They are. And they're growing fainter. Delaying any longer would be dangerous to the survivor's health._"

"Tell that to the shit they're throwin' at us!" Garrus's voice rumbled as he got up to peak from their hiding spot, only to duck as another crate came flying and bashed against the wall behind them.

"_I don't-!_"

"That was an expression EDI!" Garrus and Hayden said in unison. Both were clearly not in the mood for the AI's ignorance.

The AI paused, as if thoughtful, before speaking again. "_Of course Shepard._"

Thinking quickly, Garrus had already drawn his rifle, a Harpoon X and had it pointed at the unknown figure sending random objects at them. Quickly taking aim, Garrus was a little surprised that the figure wasn't just humanlike, but female. Her hair, something he'd long since given up on trying to understand, was a dark brown and seemed to come down slightly past her shoulders, though it was kept in a simple tail. Some of it, bangs he was sure they were called, came down over the left side of her face, although it was hidden by a mask of an unknown design. Her clothes were also a mystery to him in the few seconds he had to take her in: dark blue, almost navy in color, her jacket and pants made of a material Garrus distinctly remembered it being called denim.

With absolutely no hesitation at all, Garrus pulled the trigger, the crack of his rifle resounding off the walls like thunder, the woman still in his scope toppling over less than a second later. Saying nothing, Shepard was quickly vaulting over the computer console they'd hidden behind, he and Grunt right behind her. Once beside the fallen figure, Shepard put her gun away to get the woman upright. It was only then did they all see that the woman, whoever she was, just so happened to be bleeding. The wound, an almost gaping hole in her right side, could be seen through the hole in her shirt. Droplets of blood, some smeared on the floor with others floating in the air, showed where she'd managed to move away from another console. A door nearly opposite theirs looked like it'd been shot near to death, scorch marks and holes adorning the wall, and likely the hallway beyond.

Now having a chance to better look at the woman, it was obvious that her attire were civvies rather than an actual uniform. Her jacket only seemed to cover half her torso, though her sleeves still covered her arms, just a little past the wrists. Even her mask was proving to be something worth noting, since it seemed to be similar to one he'd seen Jacob wear, only it looked mostly like an old fashioned gas mask than anything. Though he didn't really think to look when she was in his scope, Garrus could now observe the shirt she had on was a navy blue v-neck. Hell, the woman even had a strange set of shoes on. _Sneakers, they're called sneakers._ His mind provided, a small memory of Hayden having worn a pair when they'd gone on shore leave together once. Plus she had equally blue almost skin-tight gloves on, some of the fabric having turned an odd shade of purple since they seemed to have soaked up some of the blood coming from the wound in her side. Only she was now gripping tightly while the slight, possibly unconscious or even subconscious, twists of her body against the floor showed just how much pain she was in.

When Shepard attempted to touch it with some of the medi-gel she'd opened, the strange woman's voice suddenly snapped into their ears. Obviously at some point she'd switched channels, and from her tone, she wasn't happy. "Son of a-! That stings dammit!"

"So you do know how to talk. How reassuring." Garrus stated in annoyance, shifting his stance as both the woman and Shepard looked at him.

The stranger, whoever she was, wasn't in the mood for his wisecracks. "Go fuck yourself. How the hell was I supposed to know who you were? For all I knew you were my death comin' 'round and tryin' to kill me from another side of the goddamned room!" turning her attention to Shepard, she brought her voice to a more civil level. "All your people this sarcastic?"

"Only the good ones." Garrus bristled at the sound of amusement in Hayden's voice.

"Fan-fuckin'-tastic." They heard her grumble, squirming a little as the medi-gel touched the edges of her wound. "Any chance you can pull this chunk of pipe outta me? It's makin' me hurt all over."

Hayden shook her head, keeping her voice calm and professional. "Sorry but we can't. But I know a good doctor who can do it all the same. Can you walk?"

"That's what I was tryin' to do when you busted in here and made me think I was under attack for the second time today. Why? You plannin' on shootin' me again?" the woman practically snarled, her unseen gaze falling on Garrus again.

"No he isn't but that's not the issue. We need to get you some medical help, and I don't think medi-gel's gonna cut it." Hayden stated, her voice showing hints of worry. Not a good sign. I wonder what she's thinking. Garrus pondered but kept it to himself.

This was clearly enough to silence the woman as she nodded, accepting Shepard's hand as she floated upright bracing her left foot onto the floor. When the right touched ground, the woman immediately winced, gripping the area as she cursed.

"Aw shit!" when Hayden moved to help, the woman waved her off. "I'm okay. It just hurts a lot. Where to then?"

"This way." Concern laced Hayden's voice when she spoke, and Garrus had only heard it when he'd nearly been blown up. "You sure you're alright to walk?"

The woman nodded, though her heavy breathing could be heard over the comm. system linked between them. This woman was hurting, badly. "The lack of gravity's helpin' but you're gonna have to drag me to your doc though. Just proof that I hate getting medical help, even if all that's wrong is somethin' like this."

"You're not the only one but that's not your choice now is it?"

Seeming to stare at them, the stranger just shrugged, gingerly leaning down only to grab what looked like a long thin cylinder and a satchel of some kind. Both of which had been on the floor unnoticed until now. "I guess not. Just make sure your guy doesn't shoot me again."

"Trust me. He won't." Hayden stated, lending the woman an arm. Garrus could hear the smug smile in his ear. But now wasn't the time for such things.

They heard the woman let out a low chortle, though the sound bore no true amusement. "I wouldn't say that. He shoots like a five year old with a makeshift slingshot."

Grunt and Hayden couldn't help but snicker at Garrus's rumbling growl at the woman's comment, but said nothing. Their priority was getting off the ship, not giving in to verbal jibes from someone they'd just met. Despite the fact that now, shooting the woman again was all but becoming just a little too tempting. Shaking his head at the thoughts, Garrus scanned the room one last time, his blue eyes missing the shifting shadows gathering in the far corner of the room as they turned to leave.

And done! A bit longer than my standard number of pages but well worth the wait I do believe. Hope you guys enjoy what's here and I hope you anticipate the next chapter. I know I am. Read, review and no flames people. I mentally set crap on fire enough as is. So without further ado, here's what's to come next:

Next Chapter:

Chapter 2: Plague

With a new unknown in their lives, what new adventures could this person bring? Is she the key to victory, or the trigger for disaster? Just what exactly happened upon the strange ship and why? Want to find out? Stick around for:

_**Chapter 2: Plague!**_


	2. Chapter 2: Plague

Hello again all! Blue here, back and ready for the next segment in my first ever '_Mass Effect_' fanfic, '_Fidelis Mucro_'. NOTE: before anyone asks, it means 'Loyal Sword' in Latin. With that out of the way, I'm really glad with those returning to read this. Those of you who haven't, you missin' out. Anyway, time to get on with the show! I don't own '_Mass Effect_' in any shape or form though dammit I wish there was a Garrus plushie. Enjoy!

"Iii" = speech

"_Iii_" = tele/radio speech

_Iii_ = thought

Chapter 2: Plague

Garrus eyed the dark corners of the halls as they half walked, half floated through the empty corridors of the unknown ship. Though they'd completed their objective, the way Grunt was still looking around as if something were wrong was putting him on edge. A practically dead ship that oddly didn't have any real-time schematics and a really, really tense krogan? Not a good combo in his book or anybody else's for that matter. Somehow his instincts and gut were telling him something was going to go wrong. Very, very wrong. And he had no way of stopping it or even see it coming to prevent serious damage either to him or Hayden. Just thinking about it made his mandibles flutter like mad. They needed to get off this damned ship, and soon. Glancing at the two women huddled at the elevator's console, he could only pray to whatever gods existed that they would hurry with their fiddling with the controls. From the way Hayden was tapping her omni-tool and the stranger was calmly pressing buttons, they weren't getting very far. The suggestion to have Grunt force the door again was on the edge of his tongue when the doors finally sprung open.

Almost immediately, the stranger froze, raising her arm in a closed fist as if out of reflex than anything. Practically everyone jumped in surprise, and watched her, silent and suddenly very observant of her actions. Looking past her, Garrus would've laughed if the mood in the air hadn't been so serious. Though her mask hid her face, the stranger was obviously staring right at the bashed-in crate lying on the floor. Exactly as it'd been when they'd last seen the damned thing, though his mind couldn't think of any relevant reason why such a thing was important at this point. Until they heard the woman speak, her voice low and hushed.

"Was that there when you left?" she asked, her tone lacking any emotion.

Confused, Hayden was the first to respond. "Yeah. Why?"

"Because not even an hour ago, an hour and a half I'm sure, I used this same damned elevator to get to this level." The woman stated, her voice sounding dead serious.

Garrus couldn't help but shrug off the sudden icy tension in the air. It was a crate. So what? "I'm sure that's fascinating but-."

"It wasn't in here when I left. And it wasn't there when I got in either." He heard her say, her tone unchanged as she continued to stare at the object. Turning to Shepard, she spoke again, this time with a questioning tone. "You're certain all you did was a point-to-point trip in this thing?"

Hayden nodded, keeping her own voice clear and professional. "More than certain. All of us rode in that thing, and that crate was already in there when we came through. Now my question is: what's the big deal?"

"That crate came from a storage room… almost seven decks below us. Someone else used this elevator between me and you guys." All three seemed to go stock-still at this information, likely the same phrase going through their heads: oh crap. Straightening herself, the woman spoke in a tired whisper. "We should go a different way."

This was enough to make Garrus' anger at the woman snap. He was sick of her attitude and it was likely he was just tired. But that didn't stop him from coming damn close to outright yelling at her. "What? There is no other way! Our scanners can't even get past these damn walls! It was a miracle that we found you at all!"

His words gave the strange woman standing before them to turn on him, her voice icy and dangerous. If not for the mask, he was sure she was glaring at him. "More gratitude, less attitude turian. Just be glad I'm proposing a new route at all."

Stepping between them, Hayden held up her hands just as Garrus was raising his gun like she'd been certain he would. "Okay we get it. This way's no good and you've got a better idea. But how does going a different way help us exactly? There's no one on this ship but us."

The stranger just shook her head, her voice strong but tired. "That's what I thought too. But this crate didn't move itself. And it certainly didn't do that to itself either. No, somebody else is still here. Likely on one of the lower decks." She said as she turned back to the console, only for it to let out sounds of denial. "Dammit the comm.'s still down! Just how much damage did we take!"

"Let's backtrack a second here okay? Who attacked you anyway?" Hayden stated calmly, the feel of her voice in Garrus' ear was enough to calm even him. And apparently the woman also as her shoulders lost some of their tension.

"Blue Suns, the sneaky bastards. Somehow they found us and just opened fire. They hit us so hard more than half of our systems were knocked out by the first ten shots. Either they brought some serious fire power or they really know how to aim." She snarled angrily. He couldn't really tell, but Garrus was sure this woman was beating herself up.

They all almost jumped when Grunt finally joined in, letting out a gruff laugh. "Sounds like it was a hell of a fight. Is that why you're the only one here?"

"That and because some of them tried to get on board. Everything got put into lockdown and everybody jumped ship. Those idiots tried to get the piloting systems online but they just activated the emergency protocols instead. Which is why the ship looks like there was a battle, only no battle debris floating around to prove it."

"So the ship flew itself here?" Hayden asked almost cautiously. She wanted to keep everything calm, at least until they got off the ship.

The woman nodded, her voice showing some mechanical tones, almost as if she were repeating what she'd been told herself. "In complete flight mode, yeah. Sending it only just far enough to do repairs or at least something about the intruders, away from their turf and their ships. Which would be a good thing if the crew wasn't gone. I stayed behind to make sure nothing got stolen when those fuckers got smart and tried to corner me in the engine room."

"Do you know where they are now? We could help you take them down." Garrus offered, indicating his intention with his rifle. Yes it wouldn't kill him to be civil with this woman, even if something about her did piss him off.

Only the woman just shook her head, the fatigue returning to her voice. "No idea, what with internal sensors down and the engine offline, at least for now. Our only chance of avoiding them is to go through the service tubing."

"What about the Blue Suns mercs? Can't we just go after them?" Grunt said almost too angrily. All of them could tell the young alien was itching to shoot something.

Again, the woman shook her head. Her stance told them she was starting to get a little irritated with that question. "There's a fail-safe that hasn't been activated yet. The protocol is supposed to vent all the atmosphere in the ship, killing any unauthorized personnel to keep them from carting off cargo or taking the ship. But that's only possible if all authorized crew members aren't on board."

Nodding in understanding at this concept, since EDI had done it once before, Hayden was obviously putting the pieces together. "Is that what you tried to do earlier? When the ship's systems were being hacked into?"

"Oh yeah. Only the safety protocols prevented the full activation of the protocol. If we get off this ship, they'll activate and those bastards'll suffocate." The woman said with a cold triumph Garrus's mind could only identify as Shepard's. His mandibles twitched at his discomfort at this thought. To him, this was just too weird to be coincidence.

Hayden, on the other hand, was focused on what the woman was saying, though he thought he saw her shift in response to his mood. "But how did the ship know you were still on board if internal systems are down?"

Silence filled the void space they filled, the woman clearly thinking back, the information finally coming back to her. "The sensors are down, but the cameras aren't. I think the computer did a facial analysis and only did half of what it was told out of concern for my survival. If I get off the ship, the cameras will tell the computer I'm not aboard and when that happens…"

"All the mercs on board die instead. But why take the service tunnels when we could just take the elevator? Isn't that easier?" Garrus had to ask. Did just a simple thing have to be so complex all of a sudden?

This time the woman scoffed. "For all we know, the mercs found a console that's linked to the security system and could be watching the feeds. The tubes don't have cameras, but the elevators do. If they see us leave, all we're doing is setting ourselves up for disaster."

"So if they saw us come in, they might see us trying to get out and kill us. Exactly like old times Shepard." Garrus said smugly over the radio, hearing the female commander chuckle back at the phrase.

Naturally, Grunt sounded very disappointed with the situation. "Does this mean we don't get to shoot anything?"

Both Garrus and Hayden laughed, a small chuckle coming from the stranger. Hayden could only shake her head at the krogan. "No Grunt, no shooting this time. We don't even know how many might still be on this ship and I don't think getting into a fire fight is going to help anything." Turning back to the woman, Hayden extended her arm in the human courtesy Garrus had only witnessed a few times. "Lead the way miss-."

The woman was quick to shut them off, raising her hands as if to placate them. "Terri. Just call me Terri and we won't have any problems. The tubes should be right-."

She was cut off by a door practically right next to her whooshed open, revealing a merc obviously dressed in Blue Suns armor. He jumped at the sight of them, honestly caught off guard and weaponless as he tried to reach for a weapon. Turning to Terri, the man immediately froze like he'd just seen something horrifying. When he finally spoke, his voice told them he was a batarian, despite the helmet hiding his face. "You-!"

Terri didn't hesitate, her left arm suddenly in a flinging motion. The act only took less than five seconds and already the merc was gasping as he grasped uselessly at a rather thin dagger having punctured the thin material of his suit. Already blood gushed from the wound in his neck as he fell, life's water drowning him as he floated before going still. Sounding somewhat surprised, Terri simply stated over the comm. to them. "Huh. I thought I killed all the mercs on this level. Apparently not."

Almost immediately all three of them felt just a little uncomfortable being near this woman. Who knew what other surprises she might have? Quickly shaking it off, Garrus was smart to ask the obvious. "How do you know he didn't come up from one of the lower decks? Or even one above us for instance?"

"Oh no, this guy was part the group that tried to take the engine room. I gave him that dent in his armor before he ran." Terri stated coolly, pointing at the dead batarian's leg, a plain to see dent making the plating look like someone had tossed rocks at it. From their experience, it was likely a ricochet from a gunshot.

Hayden nodded, her helmeted head bobbing almost oddly as she took in the information calmly before speaking. "Well we should probably move on. The tubes?"

Terri nodded back, obviously thankful for the acceptance of the simple evidence, pushing off of the floor to their left to what looked a really odd door. "Over here. They should be big enough to fit all of us."

"How… how come you don't have a gun? Or even a rifle for that matter?" Garrus inquired honestly, putting his own weapon away now that the potential threat had been… dealt with. The sight of the dead batarian floating as if he were in water wasn't exactly one of the best things to commit to memory.

The woman snorted at the question, and likely would've glared at him if not for the mask or that fact she was putting a security code into the console on the door. "I don't like guns. I only use them out of necessity and even then I'm pushing myself." Finally she turned and looked at him meaningfully. He could feel her stare through both their plastic barriers. "Are you sure now's a good time to play 'Twenty Questions'?"

"She's right Garrus. We're probably running out of time. How long until that protocol kicks in?" Hayden asked, helping the other woman pull the door away, both of them pushing the metal hatch to the side with a lazy grunt of effort.

Terri was quiet for a few seconds before she finally answered, her voice serious and clearly professional. "If we hurry, we've got five minutes, tops. It'll go off a good twenty seconds after we go through the airlock doors. After that we have to detach so the ship can activate properly and not take us with it."

"Wait… the protocol only works if the ship's in motion?" Grunt finally put in, sounding just as confused as his teammates felt.

"Venting the atmosphere while in standstill takes too long. The protocol's meant to give any intruders a quick and humane death so that they can't mess with anything else. Once it's complete and everybody's dead, it'll go into full stop and send a distress beacon to any friendlies in the area." Terri stated, possibly a bit too calmly, her tone having taken an almost cold turn to be considered emotionless. "Quick, simple and efficient."

"Sounds like a solid plan. And you're sure no one else is on board?" Garrus had to ask, though he was sure she'd just snap at him again.

Oddly enough, she didn't as she just nodded. "Perfectly. I was able to check the logs before I was attacked. Everybody registered into the pods before they ejected and took off. The only ones left are us… and the mercs."

"Lead the way then." Hayden said, giving Terri yet another human nod, giving the other woman unspoken authority over their escape.

Said woman nodded back, her voice holding onto its stiff professionalism as she knelt down to enter first. "Single file people. It might be a little cramped."

Garrus bristled. This woman was exactly like Shepard! Cold, dominating and demanding when serious but oddly sarcastic when she wasn't treating them like complete strangers, though the only real difference was her standoffish behavior. _Just who is this woman?_ He thought as he followed Hayden and Grunt into the enclosed space, begrudgingly angling himself properly so he could climb better. Despite what the woman, Terri his mind provided, had said, the crawl space wasn't as cramped as she'd said it would be. Though it seemed like a close fit for Grunt, and the lack of gravity was helping their progress. Terri seemed to wistfully float ahead of them, seeming to ignore their presence altogether, pausing only to let them catch up before gently propelling herself forward. If it weren't for the occasional blood drop that floated by, Garrus would've sworn to Spirits high and low the female was treating this whole thing a bit too casually. But like with most things, he kept this to himself. All the while knowing that Shepard would likely give him one of those puzzling human expressions, and that Grunt just might up and laugh at him over it. And he wasn't exactly in the mood to be laughed at.

"How's it look Terri?" Shepard's voice inquired over the radio, shaking Garrus out of his thoughts to see that Terri had stopped to mess with a console.

The brunette seemed to grumble before the thing beeped its consent, a low hiss coming forth as the door swung open. "Good to go. Just one more—shit!"

Something howled into the quiet of the tubes, a strange looking but very human arm reaching into the space ahead of it. Terri was quick to swat at it like it was a fly in her face, making the thing howl again angrily and pull back, giving her time to reclose the hatch. From the way her breathing echoed in their radios and her body shook, the experience had shaken her as much as it had them. Finally after a few moments of silence, Garrus practically exclaimed into the silence that surrounded them. "What the hell was that?"

Terri leaned against the wall of the tube, shaking her head as she seemed to mutter under her breath over the radio. "Fuuuuck. I was sure I'd killed all of those things."

"What are they? Are they even… real?" Grunt asked, seeming disbelieving that what they'd just witnessed was even close to being from a realm of reality.

Looking down at them, Terri's voice was cold and stern. "As much as I would love to spill the beans, we've got to go back. Now."

"No way. We're not going anywhere until we get an explanation." Garrus growled back, truly tired of not having all the facts. He wasn't in the mood for the run-around.

"If those things get us, we're as good as dead. And I'm the only one out of this little party who knows exactly how to kill them. You shooting dozens of bullets at them, and me, ain't exactly gonna solve things." The woman snapped, sounding just as irritated as he felt.

"Garrus, stand down. We don't have time to be fighting amongst ourselves." Hayden said from under him, leaning so that she could see the other woman past the two aliens ahead of her. It always puzzled Garrus how she could keep her voice so steady like that. "Terri, you said you can kill those things. How?"

She tilted her head, as though in thought, hesitating before nodding. "Well… I guess it's kinda like your biotics, only… different. At least I don't glow in the dark when I use them."

"Can you clear the way for us?" Hayden asked, her shifting form telling Garrus she was filing questions away for later like he was. Now wasn't the time for the finer details.

Terri nodded again, a little more sure this time. "I could try but I can't exactly guarantee I'll get them all. But I can give it a shot."

"Just who are those people?"

"The crew… or what's left of them." She said after a moment, her voice just a little too monotone to be sad.

Garrus started in shock. Was she serious? "They're-! And you let this happen? I thought you said the crew managed to escape!"

Terri looked back down at him. If she was glaring now, he certainly felt it, making him shift his mandibles in discomfort. He almost shivered when she spoke, her voice cold and even, as if she were seriously holding back how angry she was. "All I can say is that they got this way after the attack started and now they're attacking anything that moves. They get us and we're done. You gonna stop complaining or do we have to pretend to be hamsters all day?"

The turian shook off his shock long enough to speak again, doing his best to keep his own voice within its usual calm. She sounded almost exactly like Hayden did when she was angry, almost to the point of being creepy. "Fine. But you're not off the hook. Not even close."

"Somehow I highly doubted that turian." She snarled back as she turned her attention back to getting the hatch open again. "Now keep your plates on. I'd hate to ruffle your feathers, even though you don't have any."

Garrus wanted to shout, scream, even roar at this woman. Just what was it with human females and making him emotional? Shaking off the thought, he focused instead on watching Terri open the hatch again, only this time her left hand glowing somewhat like a biotic's who was about to strike. The shriek of anger and pain that came afterwards told him all he needed to know what'd happened above them. Without so much as a word, Terri was pulling herself through the hole in the shaft, his observant eyes noticing her movements were now slower, more fatigued than before. A sign that whatever she'd done to clear their way, it'd weakened her. By the time they got out of the tube, Terri was leaning against a wall, her masked eyes seemed to watch their open path almost like a well-trained varren.

Looking at each other then back to Terri, Hayden was the first to speak. "Are you okay?"

"I got rid almost all of them. This way should be safe until they realize their friends are dead. We have less than three minutes before this place goes flying to some dark corner."

"No bodies?" Garrus inquired, gazing at the floor with curious eyes. He'd never seen bodies disappear that fast before. Even if what'd really happened was beyond his line of vision.

Terri didn't look at him but her voice took on the same cold it had before. "I'm not about to let my crew lie about like sacks of meat for someone to cart off. Would you?"

Mandibles twitching, Garrus was silent for a moment. "I guess not."

"Then stop bringing it up. We're running out of time. This way." She snapped, using a gloved hand to push off the wall to float ahead. None of them missed the bloody handprint she left behind on the metal surface.

Growling deep in his throat, Garrus just had to turn to his commanding officer. "Is it just me or is she really temperamental?"

"Just go with it Garrus. We're helping her by giving her a ride and she's helping us by getting us away from all the meanies with guns. That's fair don't you think?" she said with a shrug, though he was sure she was just as confused about this woman as he was.

"Yeah but… it's the way she acts that bothers me. She's hiding something." He warned, his old police instincts sneaking up on him. Some things never went away.

Only Shepard just shrugged it off, waving the statement away. "We all hide things Garrus. Some better than others. If there's anything she wants to tell us, she'll tell us. Just not now."

"I don't care what's going on. I just want to shoot things. You said we would get to shoot things battle master!" Grunt complained, making himself almost sound like a spoiled child.

This time Hayden chuckled, clearly amused with the krogan's protest. "Easy now Grunt. If we run into anyone who isn't us, you can shoot them. But for now, we need to focus on getting out of here."

"Hurry up! Or are you all waiting on a shuttle to get you there?" they heard Terri call over the radio, her voice hinting towards impatience hinted with dry sarcasm.

"See what I mean? She's you, only different." Garrus said, his voice taking on it usually smug charm.

Before the woman could respond, Terri's voice cam on again, sounding even more annoyed than before. "Same ingredients, wrong measurements. Whoop-de-dang-doo. Thanks for the ever-flattering compliment asshat. Any chance you're gonna move your lazy ass?"

Hayden chuckled, Grunt's almost husky laugh filling Garrus's ears. Did this woman get her kicks just by insulting him? Sure Hayden insulted him a time or two, but her tone was always suggestive, playful. This woman's tone was annoyed, angry, even bordering on outright tired. It was bad enough that Grunt was there to listen to this woman berate him. Garrus knew the krogan youth wasn't much of a conversationalist, but he was sure the bestial warrior would recite this event long after he was dead. Not the best way to be remembered in his mind. But as a human would put it, he sucked it in and kept quiet. He wasn't going to rise to this stranger's challenges so easily. They had a job to do, and didn't have time for something as childish as this.

The group obediently moved forward, following the woman's path where they found her messing with yet another console. What truly puzzled them though, aside from her behavior, was her lack of an omni-tool. Practically everyone had one, but for some reason she didn't. And that didn't seem to bother her either as her blood soaked, gloved fingers somehow pried the console panel from the wall. Wires and circuits plain to see, Terri wasted no time in pulling some out of the way while stick others in different places. This activity took less than two minutes before the door finally opened, thankfully revealing an empty hallway. Wasting no time, Terri left the trashed console and pushed her weightless body through, her shoes squeaking a little against the metal floor.

"Don't go so far ahead! We can't kill anything if you're in the line of fire." Garrus called, watching the woman warily as she pushed off again, sending herself further ahead toward the next door.

Without turning around, he could see her shrug this off. "There shouldn't be anything here. Just keep moving. We can't stay in one spot for very long." She did turn, seeming to give him a smug look from the way her voice sounded almost like a laugh in his ear. "Why? Are you really that desperate for a fight?"

"No. I'm just saying for safety's sake. What with you being injured and all."

"Good for you." The bite of the statement really made Garrus want to respond before he was cut off.

"Easy people. Let's not fight amongst ourselves." Hayden said before calling ahead, all three watching as Terri started playing with another console. "How much further?"

"Two more doors and we'll get to the airlock. We should hurry too. I'm almost out of air." She stated coolly, not looking at them as she pressed buttons, cursing when it didn't respond to her attempt to get the codes right.

Now it was Hayden's turn to start at this information, taking her turn to sound angry at this news of the unexpected. "You're-! You're just telling us this now."

"I've got another mask but I can't switch unless we're in a truly oxygen based atmosphere. This one's just an emergency mask I managed to grab from a nearby emergency station. My own's in my bag but switching now would be stupid. As long as we get to the airlock and don't meet resistance, we'll be fine." Terri looked at them, seemed to stare meaningfully at them. "Glad we avoided combat yet?"

"You could've told us." Hayden ground out, folding her arms in a way that told them all she was silently angry. Garrus knew that Hayden never did much unless she had all the details to go off of first.

"Riiiight. And get shot again? Don't think so." She muttered, clearly sounding skeptical.

"I-!" Garrus started, pausing to see if Hayden was going to stop him. When she didn't say anything, he went on, keeping his voice in check. "I only shot you because you were attacking us. Besides it was a concussive round. It wouldn't exactly be very nice if I shot you again. And for no reason."

"Uh huh. Suuuure. Says the trigger-happy turian with the big ass sniper rifle. I feel so reassured now. Thanks for that." She grumbled, letting out a sound of triumph when the console made a certain beep at her attentions. After a few more buttons were pressed, the doors quickly whooshed open and the way was clear.

Before even Hayden could stop him, Garrus found himself practically yelling, pointing an almost accusatory finger in her general direction. "Okay. That's it. First off? Cut the attitude. It's unnecessary and it's not helping. And second? Just because I'm the one with the gun doesn't mean…. Hey, you okay?" he asked, his anger ebbing at how slowly, almost painfully she was moving to get ahead of them again.

"Nothing some sleep and meds won't fix. We should keep moving." She growled back at him, letting out a grunt of effort as she pushed off the wall and the floor to head for the next console a good fifty feet or so ahead of them.

"I'm not done talking to you!" he called, moving forward as his companions did so, the two remaining oddly silent.

"What else is new?" if he wasn't sure before, he was sure now. Garrus knew better than anyone that Terri sounded almost a bit too tired to be healthy.

Though he wanted to protest, he didn't. And from the way Hayden was looking at him, Garrus was sure that she wanted him to be quiet also. Getting their only ally out alive without getting her too riled up was their priority now. They caught up to the woman quickly enough, the quiet of the ship calming but unnerving at the same time. If Terri noticed, she didn't say as her blood soaked gloves smeared her life's essence all over the controls. Anyone could swear that her blue gloves weren't truly blue anymore. Finally after a few moments of struggling, Hayden moved forward, her omni-tool glowing to life on her left arm, the console beeping positively as she whizzed through the codes with ease.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Hayden had to ask, hesitant to speak should she keep the other woman from concentrating on her task.

Pausing as though in deep thought, Terri continued to struggle with the controls after a moment as her words came forth with biting sarcasm. "Do you want the truthful answer, the lie that sounds like the truth or just the flat out lie that's obviously a lie?"

Taken aback at this response, Hayden spoke again, hesitation clear in her voice. "Uh… the truth?"

"The truth? Oh just peachy. And here I thought you wanted me to lie to your face." She muttered sarcastically, though her tone had a chill to it that made each of them shiver. "The truth it is then. Truth is, I'm likely bleeding out from what's likely what's left of my kidney, and your teammate's 'concussive' shot didn't help. And neither does the fact I haven't slept properly in almost five months. Otherwise I'm fine! How are you?"

Hayden was silent for a moment, likely staring at the other woman in pure human shock. "We need to get off this ship."

"Really? Wow Shepard you read my mind! What am I thinking now?" Terri practically exclaimed, the smile evident in her words.

This time Hayden couldn't help but laugh, Grunt's chuckle sounding off while Garrus remained silent. "Okay knock it off smartass."

Terri just scoffed at her. "I told you the truth didn't I? I swear, sometimes there's just no satisfying people."

"Don't say such things just yet. You just might be proven wrong."

"That'll be the day." She grumbled, the console beeping its consent to her clearing a layer of encryption.

"How much further? Just this door?" Garrus finally asked, keeping his voice calm despite the anger that still boiled in his chest.

Without looking at him, Terri nodded. "Just this one and we're home free. Granted there's nothin' on the other side. Knock on wood."

"… 'Knock… on wood'?" Garrus inquired, bewildered at such an odd statement. He'd heard some of the humans aboard the _Normandy_ use odd sayings but this one he wasn't familiar with. Looking at his commanding officer, he sounded almost like a lost child. "Shepard?"

Chuckling, Hayden just waved away his concerns and puzzlement. "Just a human expression Garrus. It's for luck. Mostly."

"Ha! Mostly she says. Oh man aren't you a kick in the pants." Terri said with a truly amused laugh, her voice likely to make up for the fatigue none of them missed. Her movements were becoming weighted and somewhat sluggish. All signs that she was definitely running out of time, time that it was likely they didn't have. Finally the console beeped one final time, the doors whooshing open to thankfully show empty corridors. Hell the same busted up data pad still floated in the air where they last saw it, its delicate pieces hanging in the same positions as before. All three of them took this as a cue to move forward, Grunt taking point to aim his shotgun at anything that might suddenly appear while Shepard worked the console leading to the extended catwalk… while Garrus none too gently grabbed the woman by the back of her denim jacket.

"What the-!" she exclaimed before the turian cut her off.

"How much time is left?"

The woman in his grip hesitated, as if thinking it over. "Maybe a minute, maybe two. We suddenly rushing for dear life now? I don't see a bomb do you?"

"No but you need immediate medical help and we need to be on our ship so yours can take off." He growled at her, some of his former anger coming back into his voice.

Terri shrugged despite his hold on her jacket. "This is true. But you don't have to manhandle me turian."

Garrus had to keep himself from shaking the woman. She just made him so angry he definitely needed to shoot something he could kill. "Sorry but we've got to move and your crippled ass isn't helping."

She scoffed, as if what he said truly did amuse her. This, naturally, just made him seethe fury at how calm and nonchalant she was being. "Whatever man. Just don't drop me when gravity kicks in. It just might spur me to do things you'll hate me dearly for once I'm not bleeding from my lower intestine."

Garrus grunted softly at the thought, some of his rage dying down. Though he couldn't see this woman's face, something about the threat struck home. When Hayden got angry, he knew fear. If this woman was anything like her, it was likely that she'd be an equal in the fear causing department. As much as he hated to admit it, the mere notion that either woman could do this to him sent a shiver down his spine. But of course he loved and understood Hayden. But this woman, Terri? He had no idea what to think of her. So far she presented herself as a sort of Hayden clone, but was doing well at showing them how different the two of them were. The beep of the console and the whoosh of the door brought Garrus out of his thoughts, all three of them moving forward with Terri in tow. Aside from her earlier words, the woman was accepting the 'assistance' she was receiving from him. None of them noticed the shadow following them swiftly, slipping past them just as the airlock doors closed behind them. Pretty soon they were all gathered behind Joker, staring out the window at the ship.

As soon as the docking clamps disconnected, neon blue lines lit up all over the ship, making the thing look like a strange looking circuit board. From bow to stern the lights slowing glowed green before taking on an almost devious shade of red. Various windows and other openings lit up as power activated, the ships many hidden thrusters pointing it in a slightly different trajectory than the _Normandy_. The main rockets slowly started glowing to life, burning white hot in the cold of space. All in the matter of less than a minute, the ship was powered up, the lines that shined on its armor like glow in the dark paint finally turning plain white before the ship vanished into the distance in a flash of blurred colors. Joker whistled appreciatively at the display before returning to his own business, dutifully ignoring the people gathered behind him as they stared out the windows to what wasn't there anymore.

"EDI? Status." Hayden practically barked at the glowing orb of blue.

"The ship's systems activated of their own accord, as our new passenger has already explained to you. Of anything else I cannot say. The databanks were heavily encrypted, many of the subroutines were written either in a purely random order or in a language that isn't available to me at this time. Otherwise the ship is gone Shepard. I could attempt to track its new trajectory but that may take time." The AI stated calmly, sounding truly curious about the ship they'd just seen disappear into the black of space.

Turning to the woman now leaning against a section of wall, since Garrus had let her go so as to remove his helmet now that they were in a breathable atmosphere, Hayden didn't hesitate to call out to her. "Terri?"

She shook her head, her face still hidden by the mask she'd yet to remove. "The automotive systems will shut down when literally all foreign life forms are dead, and even then it won't just stop anywhere. Likely it's already sending a tracker beacon to my ally ships as we speak. I wouldn't be too concerned about it."

"But it's your ship! And what about your crew?" Garrus stated, staring at her almost unbelieving.

"Another ship was in the area but not close enough to help against the attack. I'm bound to get a message about that soon enough." Terri grounded out with a shrug. "Any chance we could get me to stop bleeding on everything? This pain in my side is so last Tuesday."

"Tuesday?" Grunt muttered aloud, confused by the statement.

This time Terri scoffed again, clearly amused by the krogan's ignorance. "Monday's are terrible no matter who you ask. Tuesday's just suck eggs. Really bad, sour eggs that should be tossed in a paint bucket and never touched again."

"That's… that's a tad cynical don't you think?" Hayden asked, quirking an eyebrow at the explanation. Clearly she'd never heard it described in this way.

"Don't get me started." Terri growled, clearly annoyed as she straightened herself to a proper standing position. Turning to Garrus, she spoke again. "Oh yeah. And turian?"

He turned to her, honestly curious about what she wanted only for his gaze to meet with a gloved fist. The mere force of the blow made him see stars, or possibly his eyes were still seeing the ones out the window. He staggered only to slam loudly against the bulkheads behind him, his vision suddenly blurry as the whole room spun as if he'd had too much ale. Shepard cursed from somewhere, her hands suddenly gripping his shoulder as her voice came to his ears, but the words made no sense. As he shook the pain from his head and blinked away the blurry lines from his vision, Garrus looked up to see the human female standing over him, her stance just bleeding menace even though she was literally bleeding blood.

"That's for shootin' me." She growled at him, pointing an accusing finger at him before she turned to Chakwas, who was staring at the scene with full blown shock and confusion. "You Chakwas? Good. Any chance you're good at gettin' random chunks of crap outta people? Cuz if you are I've got a doozy for you."

Both women walked away, Chakwas asking various questions while Terri answered almost halfheartedly. Pretty soon they were both in the elevator and headed for the crew deck, Terri's life mask having come off, but none of them were close enough to get a good look at what she looked like. Then again Hayden wasn't in the mood of caring now that her lover had literally been knocked to the floor.

"You okay?" Hayden asked, kneeling next to him, doing poorly to hide her amused smirk. Neither paid much attention to Grunt walking away, muttering something about humans being crazier than rabid varren.

"Yeah. Just as soon as everything stops spinning and I get some proper feeling back in my face." He muttered, shaking some of the pain from his head. He was sure he had a nosebleed no thanks to that woman. "I was right though. She is you after all."

This time Hayden laughed, the sound washing away quite a bit of the anger that Garrus was feeling. "Nah I would've hit you no matter what. She waited until you got your helmet off before she did anything. She knows when to hit and make it hurt."

"Yeah, a lot. Help me up?" he asked, sounding a bit pitiful as he did so.

Hayden chuckled, a full-blown smile on her face now. "Sure. Up we come!" she said as she took hold of his arm and braced her feet against the floor, half pulling, half steadying the tall turian as he got to his feet.

"Oh whoa! Yeah okay too fast. Damn she's got a helluva right hook." He grumbled, rubbing his face only to regret it. Damn that hurt!

The look on Hayden's face was knowing amusement. "Maybe now you'll think twice about shooting her."

"I just might. Going to clean up?" he inquired, giving her an amused look of his own.

"Yeah you?"

Garrus shrugged, his response half-hearted at best. "The same, then I've got some calibrations that have been driving me crazy. Just as soon as I make an adjustment, another setting slips out of alignment! Really frustrating."

"Okay, if you two are about to get all gushy on us, at least do it WHEN YOU'RE NOT WITH EARSHOT OF OTHER PEOPLE!" Joker shouted from his beloved leather chair, not looking away from his controls.

"Okay, okay Joker. We're going." Hayden said laughing. Before they walked away, she grabbed Garrus's arm, making him turn to find she was giving him that look. "And you. My quarters, 1100 hours. No excuses. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." He said softly, his voice down a few octaves. The way she shivered put a triumphant smile on his face.

Garrus stood before the captain's cabin door, suddenly nervous all over again. Like it was their first time and he was completely in the dark about what to do. Only this time he knew what to do, and what to say, but didn't know if she was still in the mood to do it all. He scratched at his face absently with a careful talon. Once again Chakwas did exemplarily work on fixing whatever Terri had either fractured or broken. Even so, his nose still tingled from the pain he'd been given and then the relief he'd received not to long afterward. He'd even had the sense to look for the female human, only to find she was lying on a bed at the far end of the med bay, her back to the door and the windows. What she was wearing he couldn't tell since the sheets were brought all the way up past her shoulders. And being a gentleman, his thoughts didn't wander any further than that. Now he stood in front of his lover's door, feeling foolish for hesitating though that'd never really stopped him before. Finally kicking his confidence into gear, Garrus let out a simple huff and then poked at the console to let him in.

Hayden sat where he thought she would be, at her private terminal likely reading or reviewing her reports before she sent them off to Miranda to be logged and filed. Though they didn't work for the Illusive Man anymore, some protocols still seemed to stick. Letting these thoughts slide, Garrus moved to stand behind her, leaning so that his head nearly rested on her delicate looking shoulder.

"That today's report?" he asked innocently, smiling inwardly to himself when she jumped at the sudden sound of his voice and the feel of his plates against her.

Nodding, only glancing at him she spoke in a tone that told him she was only vaguely aware of much of anything. "Yeah, and I'm still trying to make sense of a lot of what we saw over there. A whole bunch of it doesn't exactly add up."

"Can't it wait until later? It's been a long day and Miranda can wait. At least take the time to get some sleep." Garrus practically cooed into her ear, making her shiver. Again he smiled to himself at how easily he could affect her.

But Hayden just rolled her eyes. "Gee I wish." Finally she turned to look at him fully, making the turian back up a step so they could look at each other properly. "Did you see Chakwas already?"

Chuckling lightly, Garrus nodded, a turian smile spreading across his face. "Yes ma'am. I'm fine as long as I keep away from swinging punches to the face."

"Smartass." Hayden grumbled, smirking as she turned back to her terminal. Garrus didn't hesitate to retake his position at her shoulder, paying no mind to the document she was still attempting to write.

"The only one you'll ever love." He whispered, his tone light and suggestive, even though he was only playing with her.

A smile took the smirk's place, a light laugh escaping the woman's throat. "Smug smartass."

Laughing at this also, Garrus quickly sobered when he remembered his original intent for this conversation. Placing a hand lightly on her shoulder, Garrus watched her carefully as he spoke again. "C'mon, it's about time you got some rest."

The woman seated at the desk shook her head, not even trying to shrug his hand off as she started typing again. "No I have to finish this!"

"Finish it later. You've done enough for one day. Or do I need to make you?" he rumbled, letting his voice get lower and deeper.

Hayden finally turned, her silver-grey eyes looking up at him with curiosity with a playful grin on her face. "Make me? Insubordination much Officer Vakarian?"

"Only for my Commander Shepard." He responded smugly, his demeanor and tone hinting at his own playful behavior.

An eyebrow quirked at his words, the female human's grin becoming an amused smile before she turned back to her terminal. "Is that so? Well then, good luck with that."

Garrus sighed. He'd hoped to not have to play this card. "You asked for it."

"Wha—ah!" her question was cut short by strong hands grabbing her middle and literally pulling her from her chair before putting her on his shoulder. Ignoring her cry of surprise, Garrus headed right toward the bed on the other side of the room. Likely blushing like mad as she stuttered from her astonishment. "P-put me down!"

"Like I said, you asked for it." Garrus said calmly with a chuckle, obeying only to make the woman sit down on the edge of the bed. In order to look her in the eye, he knelt in front of her with a smug look on his face. "Unless you want me to get a hold of Chakwas to in order to effectively circumvent your authority on this matter?"

"Dirty cheat." Hayden growled at him, glaring in annoyance as she slapped on of his hands in frustration.

Garrus jumped at the sudden pain, shaking the now aching appendage. "Ow! Watch it! That still hurts you know!"

"Aw poor baby! Need me to kiss it better?" she asked, a devious look in her silver-grey eyes as she took the wounded hand in her grasp. It wasn't long before the glove he was wearing was coming off.

Blinking his own surprise at her question, Garrus barely had time to speak. "Wha—oh…. Oh!"

The turian was left speechless as soft lips of pink were touching his rough hide, the brief contact sending his heart to the races. Like many times before, his focus was brought to her eyes, which now held an innocent look as she spoke in a low whisper. "Better?"

"Y-yeah, way better." He stammered, not daring to look away.

"Good." She said, smiling widely at him, the warm expression making Garrus's heart flutter in his chest. He could already feel certain parts of his anatomy becoming almost painfully hard at the thought of taking control.

And he did. Without hesitation he captured her lips in a makeshift kiss, his tongue coming out to fight with hers. Pretty soon they were both moaning at the sensations it brought to them, her hands holding his head in place while his own slipped behind her back and pulled her closer. So close their position became awkward and they both toppled onto the bed, Garrus pinning her underneath him with his larger form.

"Sorry." He gasped between kisses, the word an afterthought since getting his commanding officer out of her clothes was his main priority.

"Don't worry about it." He barely heard Hayden say, her own voice low and husky with lust and pleasure. Already he could feel her hands traveling to the back of his head, massaging the rough skin with one as she gently stroked his fringe with the other. From deep in his chest and throat this brought forth a low purr vibrating through him to her. He could hear her chuckles of triumph over the noise he was making, and it only turned him on more.

Finally breaking away to breath, Hayden's lips swollen from the gentle abuse they'd undertaken, Garrus ignored the urge to kiss her breathless again in favor of nuzzling her neck as he playfully nibbled at her skin with his sharp teeth. This alone made her moan and arch into him, both her voice and body begging for more. He could feel one of her legs twisting just enough to wrap around his thin waist, forcing their hips to rub together. The sensation made them both groan at the pleasure that exploded between them. His clawed hands were already making their way up her shirt, easily making the item slip off of her and over her head. But before she could free herself from the fabric hindrance, Garrus quickly used it to bind her hands in a fashion Hayden was sure he wasn't supposed to know. Quirking an eyebrow at him, his mouth was covering hers before she could voice the question. The moans their mouths created made up the song of their activities for the rest of the night before sleep finally came to claim them both.

Dr. Chakwas found herself with an odd dilemma. The only person she'd seen heal so quickly like this before had been Miranda. And that was just because she was genetically altered to her 'father's specifications for a dynasty she would have no part of. The patient she was dealing with now wasn't Miranda, but somehow the situation was almost the same. Sure her personality was closest to Shepard's than any other person she'd met, but this was just outright ridiculous. The young woman in her care had only been there for two hours and she showed no sign of being hurt after nearly twenty minutes after the procedure. And it was definitely and injury that would've killed anyone else. Somehow, Chakwas was sure she was doomed to meet people with healing abilities far beyond the norm. But the woman had insisted that her services weren't completely useless. 'If I could've gotten it out, I would've. But obviously I couldn't do it so who better to pull it out than someone like you?' she'd said casually. As if it were a normal thing so say. This alone had been unnerving, along with the fact that the young woman had readily gotten up with a limp that she'd had since her arrival.

"Is there anything I can do about that? Our medical equipment might surely-." She began, her instincts urging her to get the woman to stay.

The ice blue eyes were what really stopped her, their pale color bothering even her as they bore down on her with a serious calm. "Sorry Doc but if my people can't fix this leg, I doubt you can. Besides, I'm used to it and I don't want to waste anymore of your time or resources." The newcomer Terri growled at her, almost in annoyance to the request. "Any chance there's some readily open space that I can bunk in? That's not here anyway. Not big on through traffic either."

As if on cue, EDI appeared, the familiar blue orb coloring the bulkhead as it spoke in its rather polite synthesized voice. "The starboard cargo hold or the port observation deck may suit your needs miss…"

"Just call me Terri. And you are?" the woman countered, eyeing the orb with more curiosity than suspicion.

"I am EDI, this ship's onboard AI. Contrary to any fears you may have, I do not have direct control of any of the ships systems unless authorized." The AI answered easily, taking the woman's cool words with stride, both ignoring the doctor watching them.

"That answered about five questions I had. Lead the way then. When I've decided, you can let Shepard know where she can find me… at her convenience." Terri stated calmly, making her way towards the door, which opened when it sensed her motions.

EDI blinked a blink of confirmation, the lines of her 'face' following the woman on her path out of the infirmary. "Of course Ms. Terri."

"And no 'miss' either. Makes me feel older than I am." She growled with a slight smirk, as if half insulted but half amused. The smirk took on a much friendlier air when she turned towards her, giving the older woman a nod that was clearly her own way of granting respect to another person. "Until next time Doc."

Dr. Chakwas watched as the door hissed closed behind the limping woman, a few crew members in the mess turning to stare only to be ignored as the woman vanished beyond all of their views. Knowing for certain that something was amiss, she wasted no time in seating herself at her terminal to log her findings and quickly sent a copy to Miranda. She was sure once the former Cerberus agent read her report, it was likely the woman would be in her office mere moments after reading each word several times.

Sure enough roughly an hour later, Miranda came in, her heels clicking audibly on the metal flooring. In her hand was a data pad likely with the doctor's report still on it, her dark eyes flashing dangerously.

"Is this a joke Chakwas? Just what exactly are you trying to pull?" she demanded, waving the pad around like it was suddenly offensive.

Chakwas could only shake her head at the younger woman's impatience. "Nothing of the sort Officer Lawson. I simply sent you a copy of my report, just as I'm going to send one to Shepard. Why would I send the same report with frivolous information to more than one person? Besides, you know that the only one around here who does any kind of pranking are Garrus and Tali, and they mostly target each other. I assure you that report in your hand is accurate."

Miranda growled under her breath, her pretty face twisting as she began to pace to and fro the sick bay. "There's no way! It can't be right! Maybe you're wrong-!"

"Or maybe I'm right. Do you see her here? EDI just guided her out the door to any living space left available and I saw her do it myself. As did those crewmen at that table. I'm sure if you look at the footage from the security cameras you'll see I'm not lying. She was here, now she isn't. It's all there." She said, nodding at the pad in Miranda's hand, watching as anger become confusion and doubt.

"This… this is impossible. Even I know that and yet it's true? No way my father made another one, not after all this time. I know he's determined but this?" the question hung between them for a few moments, Miranda gazing at the scrolling information absently, Chakwas standing across from her in wise silence.

After a moment or two, she finally spoke up again, this time in a softer but informative tone. "Officer Lawson, I assure you, her DNA matches none of the blood of anyone one this ship, especially yours. I had to give her synthetic blood and liquids to make up for what she lost to her injury. Nothing more. Then she got up and walked out."

"As though nothing had happened? Truly?" Miranda asked, curiosity breaking through the confusion, her dark eyes searching brighter ones.

Chakwas nodded, a kind smile on her face. "Truly. This woman even had a limp she assured me even I couldn't cure. My thoughts are we wait for Shepard, in the morning."

"You can't-!"

A raised hand cut the Cerberus officer off, Chakwas's tone taking on a stern edge. "Oh but I can. I'm the medical officer remember? I can overrule anyone. Including you. Now let things be. I mean it."

Knowing that she'd been beaten for once, Miranda let her face smooth out, nodding back at her in agreement. "Fine. We'll settle this tomorrow."

"Good. Good night Officer Lawson." Chakwas said, this time with a full smile as she watched the brunette begin to leave.

Said woman paused, turning only to face the older woman one last time. "Good night." She stated, the door hissing closed behind her. Chakwas didn't go back to work at her terminal until she saw Miranda vanish into her own office. Only then did she know for sure that the rest of the night would be peaceful. Thinking nothing of it, Chakwas managed to finish her reports and other paperwork before heading to bed herself. Tomorrow was likely going to be a long day indeed.

And we're done! It took a damned good while but I did it. Especially since its 2 in the morning and my feet are cold. I should probably get off my ass and turn on the heat right? Nah I'll be down and out soon anyway. Sweet, sweet sleep. Sorry I kinda skipped out on our lemon up there, since I wasn't sure if I should keep going or let the scene between Miranda, Chakwas and Terri stay put or be pasted into the next chapter. So I decided to be evil anyway, cut it short and stick with my original plan. Here's next time's news:

Next Time!

Chapter 3: Meet and Greet

Terri's now aboard and new to the crew, but will everyone accept her. And what exactly are her intentions now that she's there? Does Miranda have a reason to be worried, or is it all wishful thinking? What mysteries does this woman hide behind her smile? Find out next time when I finally post:

_**Chapter 3: Meet and Greet!**_


	3. Chapter 3: Meet & Greet

Hey everybody! Blue here and with my next addition to my ongoing '_Mass Effect_' fic, '_Fidelis Mucro_'. I'm glad to say that everyone's support has been wonderful and it took a good amount of time to make sure all of this came out right. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it up. I don't own '_Mass Effect_' in any shape or form but I'm willing to fight anyone I got to for ownership of Garrus. Enjoy!

"Iii" = speech

"_Iii_" = tele/radio speech

_Iii_ = thought

Chapter 3: Meet and Greet

Uncomfortable was the word of the day. Without a doubt, being in the same room with a stranger who had no dossier on file was making them all feeling off balance. She'd been there since they'd walked in, even though Kelly had said she hadn't seen the woman so much as come out of the elevator. At least that she noticed. Even that was a bit odd. Kelly practically noticed everything that happened on board. For this newcomer to get past her unnoticed? Just the suggestion raised a few red flags in their minds. Looking at her, it was hard not to be just a tad suspicious of her. She was leaning against the wall, her navy blue clothes a distinct contrast to the silver bulkhead behind her. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her eyes closed and her chin almost touching the cloth of her shirt. In her right hand, twisted between her arms, was a cane, its length a dark brown wood with a silver metal tip at the bottom. The top was barely visible at certain angles, but it was knobbed with a silver inlay, a stone of some kind topping it. It was smooth and out of their vision, and none of them dared move closer. Without the mask to hide her features, she looked human enough, even if they looked almost wild. Jagged and threatening even when her expression was so passive. Dark brown hair, barely coming over her shoulders even though held back in a tail, framed her profile perfectly. Some of her bangs came over the side of her face, contrasting against her skin like her clothes against the bulkhead.

Miranda, who was standing at the end of the table closest to the door, almost cleared her throat in an authoritative manner, when the door behind her hissed open. Though Mordin, Samara, Jacob and Miranda were already there, the rest of their group had yet to appear. Yet in walked Thane, his large black eyes spotting his teammates first.

"Good morning. How is-?" question cut short, he could only blink inquisitively at their guest, who remained, silent and still where she leaned against the wall. Tilting his head as though he'd seen something intriguing, he took a few steps toward her, but no further.

Before anyone could move or do anything, the door opened again, this time revealing Jack and Grunt who paused at the odd silence of the room. Both looked about curiously before their gazes fell on the person of interest, Jack almost bursting into some wisecrack statement when the rise of Thane's hand stopped her. Even Grunt shifted on his feet, uneasy and anxious from the feel of the room. As if out of caution, the most they did was shift their way to the opposite side of the room, watching the still figure carefully, Thane unmoving as they did until his companions were well spread around the room.

After a few moments of tense silence the door opened once more, this time revealing Shepard as she stepped forward to stand between Miranda and Thane at the end of the table. "Alright people let's get started. I-."

Her next words died on her lips as she too saw their guest was present. Blinking away here surprise, Hayden eyed the woman standing against the wall with a cautious gaze. "Terri?"

Suddenly straightening, the woman stood fully, her arms coming undone to show she was even wearing her navy blue gloves, cane held firmly in her right hand. As she raised her head to look at them, Terri finally opened her eyes to reveal an ice blue possibly a shade paler than Samara's. Almost instantly her intense gaze swept its way towards Shepard, the shockingly pale orbs falling on the commander with a calm expression.

"Shepard." She stated simply, watching almost unblinking despite the tense silence around her. "Your doctor's talented, which saved me from having to yell my ass off. Plus you and your boys hauled my ass off of my own busted ship. I guess that's two favors I owe you."

"So I'm to believe that you're going to pay me back somehow." Hayden stated simply, also keeping her face fairly blank. The woman before them was a born predator, and they all knew it.

Either not noticing or not caring, Terri simply shrugged, her gaze unbreakable. "Why not? I can't just mooch off of your ship and your crew. That'd be wasteful and selfish. No I intend on working. But only if you allow it. You and I are leaders in our own right but… I know how to play 'follow the leader'. Just tell me when and I'm ready."

"Glad to hear it. We could use all the help we can get. You're willing to play with others?" Shepard found herself having to ask. She knew that Jack wasn't much a team player but if this woman was more dangerous than anyone thought, there was a probability she was going to have some big problems on her hands.

This fear was quickly squashed when the woman just smirked at her. "Only if the 'others' want anything to do with me. Otherwise, it's not my concern." After a brief silence, Terri finally turned toward Thane, who still stood as a very physically real barrier between her and the rest of the team. As if by some cue, the woman gave him a full-blown grin, though the expression bore a hint of sadness to it, revealing unusually sharp canines. "Thane Krios. Finally got a new contract I see. I'm guessing Shepard cast a pretty wide net to snag you up."

"She presented me with a goal and I accepted." The drell stated calmly, not even moving from his position, hands behind his back. His large black eyes blinked, a shift in his stance showing his hesitance. "You haven't changed."

Like it was a regular comment, Terri simply shrugged it off. "Nor you. Thought I saw you on the Citadel a few weeks back. Plan on telling me about it?"

Thane stared at her for a moment, blinking once again as he gazed at her as calmly as he could. "Later."

"Whenever man. But for now I think your commander wants to move on to more important business. Right?" she said calmly, turning her pale, ice blue eyes back to Hayden who could only watch the entire exchange.

"I do. Are you a good listener too?"

Terri shrugged once again, a simple smile on her face. "Only if it's interesting. But I can make an exception if you think it's important."

"Oookay. Moving along then." Shepard stated as calmly as she could. Personally, she was rattled that such a gruff person was suddenly calm and polite. Hell she'd even smiled at them. The wince the spread across the room hadn't gone unnoticed either. Thane seemed to twitch at the sight of it but nothing else.

After roughly an hour and a half, with Tali and Garrus arriving roughly halfway with their own reports to submit, the tall turian having to do a double take at the woman he almost didn't recognize. Garrus eyed Terri who remained practically next to Thane on her side of the table as everyone was almost literally crowding the other side. Tali seemed to eye her curiously but didn't say anything until she gave her own report on the engines. Another half hour went by and all were dismissed, the various members streaming out at their own leisure. Terri was about to follow when Shepard raised a hand silently to stop her. Said woman tilted her head but complied, saying nothing until the doors hissed shut behind Garrus, who was practically glaring at her suspiciously.

"Need something Shepard?" she asked calmly, her calm gaze almost sending a chill up Hayden's spine before she spoke.

Keeping her face straight and her voice professional, Shepard gave the other woman facing her a rather stern look. "I got an interesting report from Chakwas. Said you practically walked out of the med bay even though you'd only been in there for almost an hour. There a reason for that?"

Terri blinked almost in surprise but quickly recovered with a shrug. "You mean a reason that makes sense? Then no, that's just how it is with me. Not everyone can have all the facts. All I can say it's a skill that has limits. I can only take so much damage before I need someone to put me back together."

"That so?" Shepard found herself quirking an eyebrow, fighting down the urge to cross her arms over her chest.

Calmly Terri smiled back. "Very much so. Isn't that what happened with you? Though I have to admit being spaced is a bit much, it's still going to take quite a bit more than that to get rid of me."

"Are you telling me or are you warning me?" Hayden had to ask, a part of her mind already stepping toward the horrible moments of her death and the chill it brought.

If Terri noticed, she didn't show it as she shrugged once more. "What's the difference? Words are words. Interpret it however you like." After a moment of solid silence between them, Terri suddenly shifted, as if suddenly uncomfortable. "Was there anything else you needed? I'm ready to work when you are."

Shaking herself free of her dark thoughts, Shepard did all she could to keep a straight face as she moved on to a more pressing issue on her mind. "What about that leg of yours? Will it be a problem?"

Much to her surprise, Terri laughed. An oddly deep and musical sound, the noise bouncing lightly off the bulkheads as Terri gave her a practically fanged grin. "Ah finally. A _familiar_ question. No it won't. I've had this leg for years so even though I seem slow when I walk, I've still got some speed when I run or sprint. Plus I usually get ghost pains now and again but I've meds and other things to remedy that. If it happens in the field I'll still try to do my job, even if I'm in pain. Anything else?"

"I was wondering why you ignored Garrus glaring at you so much. You two aren't going to duke it out or something are you?" she found herself asking. Mostly for Garrus's sake than her own since the turian had been hit with a considerable amount of force.

Much to her surprise, Terri shook her head, almost looking bored with the question, though the smile seemed to stick. "Not really. He hit me. I hit him. That's pretty much it. Why fight again afterwards? It's all cool, I assure you. Is that all you wanted to ask me?"

"Go ahead and roam the ship a bit, just to see where you can apply your skills. Can't put you to work if I can't see what you can do." Hayden found herself saying, though the sight of Terri's smile and the sound of her laugh had put her a little on edge.

"Oh I see. A little test run huh? Alright Shepard I'm game. You've got talented people but I guess letting someone from the outside do a little tweaking won't be too devastating." Suddenly Terri was laughing at Shepard's almost shocked expression. "I'm joking, I'm joking. Nothing I've done has stopped any ship I've been on from working better than ever. Unless we're done here…."

"Not quite. How is it that you know Thane? From what I know he barely spoke to anybody in almost over a decade. How are you so different?"

Something about Terri's smile faded, almost in a disturbing way that made Shepard start to regret even asking such an innocent question. "You could say I was a contact of his for when he worked for the hanar. One of my guys actually provided him with some very special gun mods, which I'm now sure that all of your people have. I guess it's my turn to spread the gifts around. I trust that's all of your questions?"

"Maybe more later." Shepard countered coolly, turning to head for the door, Terri limping along beside her.

"Sure thing commander. I'll be down in the starboard cargo hold when we're both done tinkering with this tin toy of ours." As the door hissed open, Shepard found Terri's ice blue eyes watching her. "Am I going to have trouble with your boyfriend?"

Caught off guard, Shepard could only stammer in response. "With my-?"

Again, Terri laughed, only this time it had more of an amused tone to it. "Oh please. Love's blind but I ain't. I saw that look he gave me when he left. Like I was gonna snatch his favorite gun from his belt. Besides, if you're worried about my opinion here it is: I don't got one. If you two want to hook up like star-crossed lovers go ahead. It's not my business to come in-between. Though… I have to admit it's a little weird. When it comes to such things as relationships, I'm great when it comes to giving advice." They stood in the doorway for a moment. "Shall we?"

"Y-yeah." Shepard said quickly, heading right, towards Mordin's lab. When she noticed that Terri wasn't following, she couldn't help but turn around and watch the other woman begin to limp towards the armory. "You goin' this way?"

Looking back at her, a smirk was already on her lips as Terri just shook her head. "Nah. I'm not gonna trail behind you all day. Until later, commander."

Within moments Terri was beyond the metal barrier, leaving Shepard to stand alone in the corridor, datapad still in hand. Deciding to shrug it off for now, she turned and headed into Mordin's lab, hoping the salarian genius had some new results for her.

As soon as Terri stepped in, Jacob noticed. Mostly because he knew that Shepard didn't have a cane or a limp. Just as soon as the door closed, the dark skinned male turned to see the woman was already on her way toward the CIC, not even giving him so much as a look as she went. Knowing the clock was ticking, he didn't hesitate to call out.

"Everything cool between you and Shepard?"

Terri paused, her back turned to him as she stood fairly still in the space between his work table and the door. After a small moment, her ice blue eyes were boring into him like he was her main focus, and nothing else. "What made you think there was a problem?"

"Nothing in particular. It's just that we know nothing about you. And the fact you know Thane's a bit of a stretch. He barely talks to anybody anyway so you two being pen pals is kinda of a surprise."

"Still strong and silent is he? Yeah that was always his little creepy aspect. To think that after all this time the man would learn to stop being such a stiff." A ghost of a smirk was on her lips, her expression light and almost suggestive. "No dice huh?"

"From what I know Shepard's been workin' to get him to be more… talkative I guess' the word. But yeah, so far there's been no luck." Jacob said calmly, crossing his arms over his chest with a slightly wide stance.

The woman before him was smirking again. So much so Jacob almost felt… endangered by the expression. "What about the Citadel?"

"What about it?" he asked, suddenly uneasy no thanks to her staring at him.

Terri just chuckled lightly at this. "Not in the loop are we?"

"No, just not someone who gossips about things that aren't my concern." Jacob quipped back, which was the truth. He wasn't one to take rumors and gossip seriously unless there was solid evidence to back it up. If he was lucky enough to even find any.

"Ah good. Otherwise I might have to start running." She muttered half to herself, a light chuckle coming forth at her own joke. Without so much as waiting for any other responses, she was making her way towards the door. "See you later, Jacob."

Staring as the woman left, Jacob couldn't help but feel that he'd missed something somehow in the middle of their conversation. At first she'd been calm, almost hostile. Then suddenly she was friendly and all smiles. Hell, she'd even laughed! Turning back to his work on several pieces of an assault rifle, only one thing kept coming to mind: just who the hell had Shepard let onto the ship?

Thane had felt oddly impatient since the morning staff meeting. He couldn't sit in his usual chair, let alone calmly go through his meditations before a pair of ice blue eyes and an almost wicked smile came to mind. Ten years. It'd been over ten years since he'd seen that face, and those eerily almost nonhuman eyes. And both hadn't changed in the slightest. Almost as though time had frozen in her favor somehow. Even with all the technology and advanced science to explain it away, something about how calm and yet youthful the woman was didn't sit right with him. Then again, she did hide more than she said half the time. As if on cue, the door to his unusual quarters hissed open, the telltale sounds of a cane resounding off the walls.

Not even waiting for her to speak first, much less turn around, he practically let out the first thing that came to his mind. "You took your time getting here. I'm surprised since you're usually more punctual."

"Well I haven't exactly had time to stroll around like I'd have wanted to when I first got here, what with me being wounded and all." She growled almost annoyingly at him, her gaze undeniably burning into his back as he heard her sit down at the table. After a brief silence, Terri broke it with some hesitance. "So… no 'hello, how are you' from you huh?"

"It's been a long time. One can easily expect the other to be dead or in 'retirement' on a far-off paradise planet by now." He turned to stare at her, his large dark eyes wide and unblinking as he gave her yet another look over. "Yet you haven't changed. Why?"

"Your new commander came damn close to askin' the same thing." Terri responded casually, leaning her cane against the table as her expression went from amused to stern. "I heard what happened."

Thane didn't even blink. "I'm sure you did."

"You know I would've come forward had I known sooner, let alone done anything. Hell I would've shown up with my human tradition white lilies if I had to." She said, suddenly feeling awkward, if the weak smirk said anything. Soon sadness overcame it. "But you vanished and Kolyat…."

"Kolyat and I have had some catching up to do." Thane responded more quickly than usual, surprising even himself. After a moment of silent staring he finally sat down in the opposite chair, hands folded together on the table.

The amused smirk had returned, now with a hint of knowing in it. "Of that I'm definitely certain. It's odd."

Thane blinked, his confusion made clear. "Odd?"

Terri nodded at this, her cool expression watching him. "Yeah. Odd to see a famous, not-dead former first human Spectre walking around with a drell around the Citadel only to hear about a shootout involving said persons some time later on. But… nothing on the news feeds said anything about a shooting involving a human, a drell, much less C-Sec down in Akira Ward." Like most humans he'd met in his life, Terri quirked an eyebrow at him, almost suggestive. "Care to elaborate?"

"I'm surprised you know as much as you do. No hacking the system? No turning everything upside-down for answers?" Thane inquired in his usual, polite way. His large eyes were unblinking as he watched the woman across from him frown suddenly. The expression was a harsh one, her lips practically becoming a line.

"Thane, if it's anything, I do know about a little thing called subtlety." She growled at him, her tone hinting at her indignation.

The drell blinked, finally, nodding at her. "I meant no insult."

"Clearly." She chuckled, her voice filled with warm humor. "But enough about that. You need to answer my question. Human curiosity is most persistent you know."

Finally sitting down in the chair opposite of her, the chair Shepard usually occupied, Thane thought for a moment before answering. "As I have found in my travels, yes. If you truly must know, my son Kolyat acquired a job to kill a politician, but Shepard and I stopped him before he could do so. Now, thanks to our intervention, is serving as a voice to the local youth about avoiding crime. He and I speak frequently when we can."

Silence fell between them, Terri nodding almost sagely at him. "That's certainly an interesting reunion. I can imagine he wasn't too happy with you."

"At first, but we've overcome such emotions." Thane said calmly, shrugging slightly.

"Somehow I don't doubt that." Terri said smirking once more, her expression that of true happiness and possibly relief. "It's good to know you got things sorted out."

"Now for my questions." The drell growled in turn, his own expression taking a deadly seriousness.

The woman shrugged, the smirk still in place. "The price you pay I guess. Fire away."

"It's been years, yet this is the first I see you in a decade. I find it… unusual that someone like you can disappear so easily. Is there a chance I might be told where you've been?" he asked, large dark eyes watching her closely for her reaction.

Like he expected her to, Terri chuckled again. "Well I didn't spend it taking private, freelance jobs if that's what you're asking." She leaned back, hands folded together on the table as she stared back at him. "Like you, I've got my own secret doings."

"So you cannot tell me? A friend you once told me 'you held most dear'?" he asked, somehow masking his frustration at her uninformative answer. This woman truly knew how to make someone run in circles.

She was shrugging a shoulder, possibly pretending to not see the irritation in his unblinking gaze. "Afraid not. Even friends need their share of darkness to shield from the light of the bond between them. You should know that."

"I do. I'm surprised you've yet to try and pry them out of me." Knowing he wasn't going to get much else out of her on that subject, he decided to go to another. "How long do you plan on staying? You were quite adamant on working your way off."

"I'll stay as long as I'm needed, wanted or just can't do much else. Then I'm steppin' off first thing I can. Don't matter where really. I know people practically everywhere I go." She said coolly, her smirk now the ghost of the humored expression she usually wore.

"Without a doubt."

Once again she was smiling, the expression was fairly strained but still mirthful. "It was good seeing you again Thane. Say hi to your kid for me will ya?"

"I will." He nodded politely, large eyes watching her.

Smiling kindly at him, Terri got hesitantly to her feet before grabbing her cane, pushing her chair back in and heading for the door. Thane didn't miss the way she walked gingerly, pausing only for the door to hiss open before walking through. Even as the door shut behind her, leaving him by himself in the quiet of his room, the drell couldn't fight an overwhelming feeling of worry for the woman. Last he'd seen her, she hadn't walked that slowly.

Tali had been walking through the corridor towards the engine room when the elevator door hissed open, making her look up from her datapad. Who she saw there made her jump in surprise. Of all the people she'd expected, she hadn't expected their newest arrival, Terri, to be there. Pale blue eyes blinked at the quarian but said nothing. A small smirk came to her lips as the woman bowed lightly at the alien girl. After a moment of tense silence, Terri finally spoke up first.

"Going up?" she inquired, her voice filled with an odd amusement at the awkwardness of the moment.

"Uh no I… I was heading for the engine room. Why are you down here?" Tali had to ask this strange woman. Last she checked she hadn't been assigned any new help.

Terri shrugged nonchalantly, her smirk almost becoming a witty smile, stepping forward into the corridor as she spoke. "I live down here. Or rather I will until I feel I've worked off my quota. I'll do my best not to get in your way."

"T-thank you?" Tali stammered as the woman passed her, her steady limp and tap of her cane making a distinct noise amidst the hum of the ship's systems.

"You're welcome!" she called just before the door to the starboard cargo bay hissed open then closed behind her.

Tali, suddenly feeling silly for just standing there in the middle of the corridor, shook her head to rid it of the flurry of thoughts. Her encounter with the woman had been quite regular to experience from a human as far as she knew. Only she'd expected their conversation as it were to be longer. Possibly less casual then it had been. Instead, the woman had spoken politely and simply moved on. As if there was nothing else to talk about. Deciding to think nothing of until later, the quarian girl went back to her data pad, the algorithms quickly focusing her thoughts on the task at hand.

Garrus was angry. Hell, he was damn near close to livid. It was one thing the woman was walking about like nothing was wrong, but it was completely different when Shepard talked to her alone. His anger was so intense he was tempted to pace around the room in the hopes it would fade. Even as he tried to focus on his work and keep it out of his thoughts, the memory of the newcomer's expression being so calm and collected still came forth. Making him all the angrier that Shepard hadn't at least confined her until _after_ the meeting. At least then he would be having a better time getting over how she was part of their team. Temporary as the position was, it still pissed him off.

As if on cue, he heard the door behind him open and close, making him turn so he could glare at the intruder. The harsh gaze faltered when he saw it was Hayden, quirking an eyebrow as he turned away from her, the anger still simmering. "Hayden, you're early."

"Just came to check on you. Clearly there's something on your mind. Plan on telling me before you break something?" Shepard inquired, setting her stance and crossing her arms.

Garrus shook his head. She knew him so well. Finally he sighed in his frustration, turning away to face his terminal. "I'm sorry Shepard but how can you trust that woman? We don't even know her last name, much less what the hell all that business on that ship was about! Couldn't you at least confine her until she gives us some answers first?"

No sooner had he stopped speaking, he felt her hand on his arm, making him turn as Hayden looked him right in the eye. "And do what? Make her talk? Start an investigation? With what? The ship's gone, the mercenaries are likely either dead or long gone and I've seen nothing to indicate she's out to get us. We can't jump the gun every time something like this happens Garrus. You know that."

"I know, I know. But suddenly it's like she's the new piece to the puzzle. Fitting in just a little too well if you ask me." He growled out, his mandibles shivering in his irritation. "And why the hell didn't she come at me about shooting her? She sure hasn't come by since we finished the meeting. That ended over an hour ago."

Finally Hayden chuckled, a noise he wasn't expecting. "Yeah I kinda took the liberty of askin' her about that. Apparently she thinks that since she got to hit you back, all's square. Just shrugged it off like it was no big deal." After a moment she was leaning against the rail, arms crossing again and her expression thoughtful. "That's what I thought too. But she was telling the truth I can say that much."

Garrus huffed irritably, his voice a rough growl as he shook his head. "She doesn't mince words does she? So she'll be working with us? Any plans on that?"

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. I'm not even sure what she can do. My guess is that she might be a jack of all trades kind of person."

"Somehow that wouldn't be surprising." Blue eyes steadily watched the human female, his scrutiny strong and well-seasoned. "What do you think of her?"

"Only that she's a mystery but she might be a great addition while she's here. We need all the help we can get am I right?" Hayden said with a shrug. To be honest she hadn't really thought about it all that well. Hell, just thinking about it now gave her a headache.

If Garrus noticed her discomfort, he didn't say when he shrugged in turn, his tone finally take a cooler note. "Well since we're officially unemployed and we do odd jobs now to get by… I'd say that's a fair assessment. Where is she now? Do you know?"

"Probably in the starboard cargo bay. That's where she said we could find her if we need her help. Until then… I guess we give everybody some time to settle in. Get used to each other. And I want you two to get along. Understand?" Hayden growled at him, looking the taller turian straight in the eye with a playful smile on her lips.

Garrus chuckled, nodding his affirmation to her command. "Yes commander. But only if she doesn't start anything."

Hayden gave him a light push, snickering. "Smart ass."

"Only for you Shepard."

A comfortable silence fell between the two, broken only by Garrus poking at his terminal and light discussion about getting the main batteries upgraded when they had the funds and the time. In the turian's mind, preferably both but even he knew that not everything went the way you wanted. Such they all discovered roughly two days later when a message was sent asking for their assistance from a droid manufacturing plant just before being cut off. As usual, such a thing wasn't a good sign. And sure enough, practically an hour after receiving the abrupt message, Shepard found herself heading to the engineering deck to speak to their newest arrival.

_And Tali._ She reminded herself as the elevator finally came to a stop at the deck in question, the large door opening to let her through. Quickly turning into the main engine room, Shepard found her quarian friend at her terminal, likely working out algorithms.

"Tali? Follow me will ya?" she called over the loud hum of the engines, the quarian turning around to face her commanding officer.

"Sure Shepard. What's going on?" she asked, joining Hayden at the door to head back into the corridor.

"A little mission briefing. Just us girls."

Tali paused, ignoring the door hissing closed behind them as Shepard began to walk towards the starboard cargo bay door. "Wait… we're taking that Terri woman?"

Sure enough Hayden stopped too, looking back at her friend, knowing she needed to be reassured of the decision. "Yes we are. I need to see her in action now that she's recovered and I need to know if you both can get along in the field. Are you coming or not?"

"Right behind you." Tali muttered, catching up with her commanding officer just as she was opening the door.

The inside had changed since Tali was last inside, which had been roughly two weeks earlier, in search of a part that needed replacing. Crates had been moved and stacked in an obviously organized matter, some even acting as an enclosed space. A desk against the wall to the left was covered in paper, writing utensils and what looked like a wooden box or two. Clothes, neatly stacked and folded poked out of the enclosed wall of crates, just opposite of a storage cot with standard issue blankets on it. Aside from that the rest of the space was wide open with the rest of the crates hugging the walls.

Seated on a crate, leaning against the others, Terri sat on it like a makeshift chair. For the first time, she had her jacket and gloves off, revealing plain, unmarred skin and the fact her v-neck shirt was short-sleeved. Her cane, plain to see, was leaning against the crate on her left while her jacket was folded and acted as a cushion for her back. When Terri looked up from her sketchpad, she blinked at them before smiling away her surprise. "Shepard. And Tali too. This is a surprise. Had I known I'd have cleaned up a little. What can I do you for?"

Though she'd eyed the place curiously, Shepard got straight to the point. "We've got a mission and I plan to have you on it."

Terri sat up, putting her pad and pencil aside. "Oh? That was quick. And here I thought you'd wait at least a week or something before callin' me up." standing up to stand before them properly, she calmly spoke again. "Just as well I guess. Where we headed?"

"A little hideaway in the Terminus systems, perfect for making security droids. Only this factory's sent out a signal just long enough for us to pick it up before it was cut off. Are you up to it?" Shepard asked, her silver grey eyes watching the other woman almost cautiously.

Much to their surprise, Terri kept on smiling, nodding at her in agreement. "Certainly. With our weapons and Tali's skills, we can get this done. Just let me know when we're there and we'll go. Anything else?"

"Not much. Only that we're working on getting the building schematics and the air is breathable. I'll leave you two to get acquainted." Shepard said quickly, turning to leave as Tali began her nervous stammering.

"W-w-what? But I-."

Hayden turned, smiling at the quarian kindly. "Your work can wait. I need you two to converse so there aren't any problems later. Got it?" after a moment, Tali nodded, making Shepard nod in approval. "I'll see you two when we know more."

A moment later, Shepard was gone, leaving the two standing rather awkwardly by themselves in the middle of the room. Turning to the other woman, Tali found herself unable to find anything to say. "Uh…."

Smirking knowingly, Terri sat back down on her crate gingerly, like her leg was hurting her. Picking her sketchpad back up and getting comfortable again, Terri spoke for her. "Have a seat since you're gonna be here. Make yourself at home. You're welcome to leave and get a data pad if you're that worried about falling behind."

"I-I'm fine." Tali managed to say, forcing the quiver out of her voice as she sat on a near the door. Looking around the room for herself, the quarian spoke again with a bit more confidence. "So… you chose this room."

Not looking up from her sketch, Terri nodded, her right hand moving swiftly over the paper. "I did. The thought of seeing stars going by all the time makes me kinda queasy. At least in here it's quiet and nobody comes in unless they need something."

"And if they do need something?" the quarian asked, honestly curious about how the human would feel about such intrusions.

"I'm more than happy to help them find it and get them on their way. Save everybody some time." Terri muttered with a shrug. Glancing up from the pad, she was smirking again. "So you got stuck with someone like Shepard for your Pilgrimage huh?"

"How did you-?" Tali found herself stammering again, caught off guard.

Terri shrugged it off easily, her pale blue eyes refocusing on the picture. "Met a quarian some ways back. Quirky little fella. He had a nasty habit of repeating himself quite a bit. Got a little annoying after a while you can imagine. Nothing a little intimidation can't cure."

"You threatened him?" Tali asked, sounding appalled.

Rolling her eyes, the human woman was practically growling her words. "I didn't threaten him! I cautioned him that if he didn't fix the way he talked, I'd 'fix' his suit to make funny noises when he walked. Among other things. He was more cooperative after that."

Tali blinked her white glowing eyes. Were all humans truly so violent? "Was it that necessary? He didn't do anything to you."

"That's also another moral to this story. He broke into my place 'by accident' and tried to steal some of my tech. So I broke his hand and then I cautioned him on his speaking habits." Terri muttered coolly, pausing in her sketching to scowl at it and turn it sideways.

"Is there anything you haven't done that required violence?" Tali found herself asking, staring at the human woman in bewilderment.

"A few things. Maybe later though. Were you going to stay or were you going to try and get more out of me?"

Tali could only stare, taken aback. "How can you be so calm about such a thing?"

Shrugging one shoulder, Terri leaned forward a little to stare at her work with a bit more intensity as she spoke. "I'm a soldier I guess you could say. Sometimes I fix things, sometimes I break things. Other times I'm utterly destroying things or not doin' a damned thing. I do a bit of everything really. Were you hoping for something different?"

"I don't know. Some humor maybe? Probably something to tell me you're somewhat remotely normal in human terms?"

"Define 'normal'." When Tali didn't respond, she chuckled. "Thought so."

"Now you're just being impossible." Tali grumbled, finally fed up with the human woman practically ignoring her. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Sketching. If you've seen what I have, you'll want to do it too. Not even on a computer either. Those crash or get hacked all the time. With this, all someone has to do is pick it up or destroy it." Finally looking up, Terri's ice blue eyes watched the quarian curiously. "Did you want to see?"

"Sure." Tali got to her feet as Terri extended the sketchpad, the paper bundle heavy in her hand. Looking down at the most recent drawing, Tali was stunned to silence. Even though the picture was done in pencil, the detail was astonishing: a forest, full of life down the very last detail. Turning the page, towards the front, the next image was of an expansive valley. With each page, each drawing was just as amazing as the last. After a few moments Tali had to voice her thoughts of amazement. "These… these are amazing! You drew this?"

Terri smiled, amused by the quarian's reaction, accepting the pad back. "Naturally. I did take a few art courses before I started blowing things up. You could say it's better than seeing a shrink."

"They're beautiful. And you have more?" Tali asked, sitting down again.

She nodded, putting the sketchpad and pencil aside. "Many more. I even design fabrics and patterns." Leaning forward, she pulled her jean jacket out from behind her and tossed it at the quarian. "This coat? Designed and made myself by hand."

Once again Tali was silenced by her awe as she gave the garment a thorough inspection and its intricate craftsmanship. "Seriously? But the stitching-."

Terri nodded a sly smirk on her face. "Can be done right with either the right kind of equipment or the right kind of patience to sit and just sew. I chose patience."

"Really?" Tali asked, very much in awe as she continued to look over the garment. There was no doubt, each stitch had been done with great care and consistency.

"Really, really." Terri chuckled in amusement. "Can't exactly carry around a sewing machine every time I feel the urge to make or fix something."

Tali looked up, and if not for her mask, one could say her jaw was on the floor. "But honestly? No machine at all?"

"None. Just me, a needle and a lot of time on my hands. That happens when you're stuck in the hospital for a few months." Terri mused calmly, accepting the jacket back when Tali was finished looking at it.

Caught off guard, Tali froze halfway between sitting back down, stammering her surprise again. "The hospital? You were injured?"

The smirk vanished, a dark expression crossing the human woman's face. "The cane isn't for show ya know."

"I'm sorry I—."

Terri's expression changed, the smirk returning with a sad air to it, waving off Tali's apology. "No worries, I'm not offended. I'm not even bothered that I brought it up of my own volition into this conversation. Just be calm okay?"

"S-sure." Feeling awkward all of a sudden, Tali felt it was time to switch subjects. "How do you know Thane?"

Much to her surprise, Terri scoffed, almost breaking out into laughter. "Thane? Oh boy that social stiff? More like how he knows me."

Shaking her head at Terri's low chuckles, Tali kept back her own giggles to form her next words. "Alright then. How does he know you?"

"Persistence! Finally someone with at least some brains in this galaxy." Terri exclaimed suddenly, making Tali jump as the woman sat up. Leaning forward slightly Terri's pale blue eyes watched the quarian with amusement. "Me and Thane met on the Citadel when he was there on business. Practically bumped into each other actually now that I think about it."

"You were on the Citadel? What were you doing there?" Tali asked, her curiosity piqued even though Terri's sudden change of emotion still unsettled her a little.

"How many stories do you want me to tell you? Pick one!" Terri growled almost threateningly, though Tali could tell there was no anger in it.

"Alright, alright! I'll go with the first one…."

Terri nodded, the smile returning. "Okay then." "Well… I guess from the beginning is best yeah?"

"Are you trying to stall? Or are you making fun of me somehow?" The quarian girl asked, white eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Taken aback by the question, Terri was scoffing again. "What? No! Now let's see…. Ah yes! I was there to run some errands, ya know find the kinda expensive but preferable stuff. I was wandering through Akira ward when a whole group of people came flowing through, practically spat him out. Much to my surprise, and his, he and I got knocked to the side. Naturally, like the gentleman he is, he asked if I was alright and I said I was and whatnot. It was before he walked away that I noticed his color was a little off. I'd seen a drell before so it was easy for me to tell the difference between healthy and sick."

"Sounds like he was really ill. You helped him?" Tali inquired, drawn in by the story, despite its lacking in the finer details. She was learning more about Thane than the man would likely ever tell her.

"Helped him? More like forced him to get help, the friggin' idiot. Dragged his sorry green ass to the best doctor I knew, told him to get himself a second opinion from any professional he trusted. Then I told him he owed me a favor and could call if he needed help from me or somebody I knew. To think it's been nearly eleven years too."

Tali couldn't help but blink. Eleven years? Was such a thing possible? "You've known him that long?"

Nodding her affirmation, Terri was smirking still as she leaned back against the crates once more. "Surprising I'm sure. You'd be surprised what you remember after a decade of roamin' around, messing with everybody else's day."

"Has Thane called on you since then?" the quarian asked, truly wondering if their relationship was as friendly as it sounded.

Terri rolled her eyes as if in annoyance but answered anyway. "A time or two, scarcely said more than he needed to. I even asked how he was and whatnot, but he either ended it or hung up. With all his etiquette, you'd think he'd know better than to hang up before the conversation's actually over."

"And you weren't mad at him about it?"

"Of course not! He's not a chatterbox like most people I run into. I understand he doesn't talk much. But he should at least talk more." Terri stated calmly, clearly not bothered by Thane's completely lack of communication or actual ties.

Tali couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief. "Thane's always been quiet. I think Shepard's the only one whose managed to talk to him the most. Probably because she talks to all of us when she has nothing better to do."

As she expected, Terri was laughing again. "Oh man. You can definitely expect a human to do that. When bored, go talk to somebody."

Sensing she wasn't going to get much further on the subject with the human woman, Tali felt it best to change the subject again. "So… how do you like the ship? Are you getting along with the crew?"

Terri shrugged, as if nonchalant. "More like 'hanging out with the crew' than 'getting along'. Some of them still stare at me a little funny when they see me. No worries though. I'm used to it." As she spoke, Tali didn't miss the sadness hinted in her voice. Like before, she snapped out of it with a smile. "The ship though? Well of one I have to be glad I don't get lost."

Tali could only stare at her for a moment. Weren't humans more social with each other? She knew that Shepard could be chatty when she felt like it but this woman seemed a bit towards the opposite. It then dawned on her that she'd been subconsciously listening to the crew talk, all of it about Terri. If memory served, all of it was guesswork and likely half-truths. Unlike Shepard some years before, Terri had made no effort to speak to the crew and her teammates at all. Tali knew that some humans were harder to get along with than others. Some even wanted nothing to do with each other at all. Before she knew it, the words were coming out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Why? Why not talk to them?" Tali found herself asking before she could stop herself, the words coming forth like they always did.

Terri blinked, tilting her head slightly at the questions. After a moment a tired look suddenly appeared, bundled with an amused smile, surprising Tali in a fashion she wasn't prepared for. "I'm okay with it. If they want to talk to me, they can. Besides, I don't know how long I'm going to be here. If talking to just you is all the interaction I get, I'm happy for it."

"What about Thane? Have you tried talking to him?"

"A little. He wasn't happy with some of my answers, naturally. He'll come when he feels the need, and not before." The woman said with another shrug, smiling at the quarian in a fairly polite manner. "Any other questions?"

"N-no, I'm good." Tali said, feeling oddly uneasy with the sudden end to their conversation as a whole. "See you tomorrow?"

Reaching calmly for her sketchpad and pencil, turning to a fresh page to begin drawing anew, Terri said coolly. "You bet. See you later Tali."

With that Terri turned away, going back to her sketching, as if perfectly fine with the quarian still seated a ways from her in silence. Suddenly feeling a little awkward just sitting there with nothing to do or say, Tali got to her feet and headed for the door, glancing back briefly just to see if the human woman reacted. Unmoving save her hands, Terri had yet to acknowledge her departure. As the door hissed open to let the quarian through, Tali did miss Terri finally turning towards her, gazing strongly at her back. Even as the door shut after her, the human woman stared at the door for while, going back to her sketch.

-_**The Next Day**_—

Tali shot a security mech clear through the head as Shepard shot a few more in the chest, their metal bodies falling noisily to the ground before exploding. Amidst the maze of crates, Terri had gone forward on Shepard's order to scout ahead. Not even bothering to question the order she'd just nodded and gone on ahead. Even then, she still just had her cane and no gun. Which even to Shepard was surprising but somehow not unexpected. But this concern died when various noises of battle told them their newest member was holding her own. The lack of enemies on their part only seemed to increase the violence on Terri's. After nearly ten minutes of fighting, they both suddenly heard a cry over the comm. in their ears.

"Terri? What's happened?" Shepard demanded, tapping the radio in her ear to click it on as Tali dealt with a stubborn door their comrade had somehow gotten past.

"_Shit!_" they both heard her shout over the radio, the sounds of gunfire and explosions accompanying her voice. "_I've got heavies. Could use a little help here._"

"We're on our way. Where are you?" Shepard asked, watching the quarian finish the override and move through the new opening for anything threatening.

"_Next room, on the main floor. Crates only do so much for cover._" Terri gasped over the comm., her voice rushed from exertion and clearly from avoiding rockets.

Holding her gun out as she followed Tali, Shepard accepted the information with her next words. "Understood. Can you hold them off?"

"_Oh yay. Hide and seek with metal golems. You ladies hold back while I try not to get blown to smithereens. Oh yeah… great plan. Lovin' it._" Terri grumbled as another explosion went off, sarcasm not lost to her despite everything.

Before starting on the next door, Tali decided to put a word in, her voice seeming a bit doubtful at best. "Did you at least try to hack them? Make them stop or attack each other?"

A grunt of effort was heard as more bullets could be heard flying by, Terri's voice now a more irritated growl. "_Yes, definitely. Didn't really work, oh so surprisingly enough. Their programs are so scrambled I was practically kicked out. Now I'm dodging bullets. Thanks for the concern._"

"We'll try to pick up the pace. Just hold out until then."

Even as she worked on getting the door open, Tali looked back at Shepard with a slight bit of sarcasm in her voice. "She does realize that she should've brought a gun right?"

"_I can still HEAR YOU! And is now really the best time for a little, family fun game of 'Twenty Questions'?_" Terri almost shouted angrily, faintly cursing under her breath when another rocket could be heard screeching past her and blowing up against something off to the side. Clearly she really was running out of time.

Shepard quickly cut off the transmission, her face grim as the door finally opened for them. "C'mon, before she gets burned to a crisp."

"Right behind you Commander." Tali said with a nod. Now wasn't the time for humor.

Making their way past the few mechs remaining and a few doors that'd clearly been hacked for their benefit, they finally came to the large room Terri had spoken of. The two large heavy mechs lumbered through the room, their machine guns and launchers going off like crazy as a blur of dark blue ran from one piece of cover to another. From the debris covering the room, it was easy to see that much of the cover they would've had was now gone. Pulling out their cannon pistols, Shepard and Tali readied themselves for the long haul before rushing through the room. In moments, Tali was behind a crate that was able to take a few hits while Shepard found shelter behind a scorched pillar. From the way the mechs were shooting, they hadn't notice the newcomers just yet.

Tapping her ear again to reopen the link, Shepard eyed the mechs as they stumbled about, spending their ammunitions almost like trigger-happy children. "Terri you still there?"

"Yeah. I saw you come in but our friends are being very rude. Shocking how some bots just can't be polite these days." Terri managed to say with a light snicker. There was no hiding her tired breathing though.

Tali and Shepard looked at each other. Worry was the main word they shared but kept it in check as Shepard went on to ask. "How are you doing? Holding out okay?"

"_For the most part, for sure. I did manage to kill their shields before they kept me from going into an air duct._" Terri gasped, clearly taking a breather as the mechs began to stumble around, clearly noticing their prey had vanished.

It was Tali who spoke up, this time with a hint of surprise in her voice. "You were going to crawl around in the ducts just to get to the server room?"

"_Yes, Tali. I was, but now I can't since they kind of blew it up and are now playing 'Kill the Human'. A very popular pastime it seems._" The human woman growled, no longer in the mood for humor.

Shepard couldn't help but smirk at the remark despite herself. Schooling herself and her face, she was again speaking with a commanding voice. "Can you still get in there? Shut these things down?"

More bullets went flying, Terri's voice barely audible over the sound. "_Maybe, but I kinda need someone to shoot them. And make them go somewhere else._"

"A problem easily solved if you had a gun." Tali quipped, her tone half joking.

"_Any chance we can chat about that later? As much as I would love to talk this over with you right now… I'm kinda being attacked here?_"

Fighting down a snicker of amusement at their banter, Shepard kept herself in check, her voice firm. "Just hold tight. Try to get to that duct again. We've got you covered."

"_Best thing I've heard all day._" Terri managed to say before the comm. went dead.

In a snap, all three of them were moving, Tali and Shepard coming out of hiding long enough to pump the heavy mechs full of lead while Terri's blurred form moved quickly to vanish behind the remains of a crate. As they thought they would, the mechs turned to them and began firing vigorously, their mechanical voices loud and distorted even over the gunfire. From the way they voiced the damages to their armor, and no kinetic barrier flared to aid them, Terri had clearly done her job. Gun or not, it was obvious that her style just might be able to mesh with theirs after all. As one mech finally fell and exploded from the heat, Shepard lightly tapped her comm. again, eyeing the second and final mech with an almost lazy look on her face.

"Terri, how're doing on your end? We're almost done here." She said informatively, firing ruthlessly at the machine as she spoke.

More gunfire greeted her ears, but not as much as before. "_Dammit! More mechs, but no heavies. I can deal with some of these. Some of the ducts are too small for me to get through but I can go from room to room. I can see the server room and I'm almost there. I'll destroy as many as I can from here. After all, I'd hate to give you two sloppy seconds._"

"Just focus on your job and call if there's a problem. We'll need to get out of here fast if we need to blow this place."

"_From the way these things are acting, I don't doubt that._" Terri said coolly before a loud noise made them jump, the woman's angry voice hard to miss over the whizzing bullets. "_Jeez! Dumbass mechs! Can't even hit the barn wall with that kind of shooting! I'm insulted now!_"

"Terri?" Shepard inquired, concerned even as she ducked back into cover to avoid a well-aimed rocket.

"_It's all good. These things can't aim worth crap. They're just randomly firing off shots at me. Almost got nicked by one of 'em too. Damn metal bastards. Just focus on that mech and don't worry about me. I actually have this under control._"

"Roger that." Shepard barked into the comm., coming out of cover just long enough to shoot the heavy right in the head. As she hid again, the shatter of glass and the fritz of wires told her she'd blinded it. Popping her heat sink for a fresh one, Shepard glanced at Tali, who nodded back at her before they both came out of cover. With many well placed shots, the mech fell and sent parts everywhere, missing the two women by inches.

Eyeing the wreckage calmly, both women approached the remains calmly, Shepard once again on the radio. "Terri. Status?"

"_I'm almost to the server room but more of things keep turning on. Tali, I need you to start locking doors so they can't move around as much. And Shepard? Still tired of shootin' stuff?_"

"Not really. How many are there?" an almost tense pause fell between them, making Shepard's face twist with concern and a bit of confusion. "Terri?"

After a moment, the woman's voice came into their ears, dripping with part sarcasm, part gruff annoyance. "_Does 'many' count as a valid number?_"

Looking at one another, she and Tali shared a grim nod. "On our way."

Searching the room for any worthwhile valuables, the two women passed through the door into a corridor, briefly looking down to see a vent cover had been tampered with. Clearly Terri wasn't fooling around when she needed to get the air ducts. Quickly coming to the next room, an almost literal labyrinth of stacked crates, the two were immediately met by stumbling mechs. From the way they tripped over parts of their compatriots, Terri had managed to take a number of them out before moving forward before more replaced the losses. Shepard didn't waste a moment by shooting the few mechs that were in front of them, Tali tossing a grenade at more coming around a corner.

From above, a familiar voice called over the explosions and clanking. "Up here! There are more on the way!"

Looking up, Shepard and Tali saw Terri standing atop one of the stacks of crates, clearly not bothered by the height. The resounding clanking of more mechs coming around the corner, Tali was the first to scale the tower of metal boxes as Shepard stayed, her gun pointed straight where danger approached. Once Tali was halfway up, the mechs appeared, firing as soon as they saw the human woman in their path. Shepard managed to fire back before something came flying at them, making them all explode in a sudden crash of noise and fire. Blinking away her surprise, Shepard holstered her gun and climbed after her teammates, quickly catching up to see Terri was holding a grenade. Pale blue eyes watched the ground below as Tali helped their commander onto their temporary haven, orbs of silver gray watching the other in surprise.

"You have grenades?"

Terri shook her head, not taking her eyes off the ground. "It's surprising what people leave lying around. We're all lucky I was able to even arm these things." She muttered as she tossed another one down at the fumbling mechs. "C'mon this way."

"Why up here? You could've fought them off."

"Yeah but… they keep doin' that." Terri growled, pointing at a corner and opposite wall of the large room. The part of the room with doors that kept opening and closing, letting more mechs move about. Mechs that were clearly as quirky and infected like all the others before.

Tali's shoulders slumped as she stared at the sight, nodding lightly in understanding. It was clear things had gotten harder. "Oh."

"Yeah. Takin' all the fun out of stuff and everything." Terri practically snarled before turning back to the quarian. "Can you lock those doors? I tried but getting shot at is really distracting."

"You can count on me. What about you and Shepard?"

Ice blue eyes skimmed the room, clearly looking for a means to get across without getting shot to death. "Shepard can shield you with her aim and I can try to make for the server room again. That is... if it's all right with you commander."

Shepard didn't need to be told twice. Nodding her approval, she had her pistol in hand once more. "Get going. We only have so much time before those mechs figure out what we're doing."

Grinning her odd grin, sharp teeth almost glimmering in the artificial light, Terri nodded back. "Yes ma'am. Just stay up here and you won't go wrong."

"You're going back down there?" Tali asked, her surprise evident.

"I'll distract as many as I can, destroy what I can and when we're done, we gotta run like hell. We can't just leave a place like this standing." That toothy grin spread a little further, the expression almost sinister. "It's all you ladies."

Without another word, the woman turned and ran off, the crates acting like a maze of pathways above the mechanical masses. After putting distance between them, the dark blue clad woman was quick to jump down, her landing accented by explosions and gunfire. Tali could only look between where Terri had vanished and her commander. "You're just letting her go?"

"To be honest, I didn't think she would take charge but since she hasn't tried to force us into anything…. I don't see how this won't work." Hayden said more to herself than anything, holding her pistol in a firm grip. "Let's get going."

"Yes Commander."

Explosions rocked the room but did little to distract them as Tali got to work sealing off doors while Shepard gazed every which way, picking off any mechs that got too close for comfort. Another loud crash and the sound of mechs exploding near the other end of the room told them both Terri had truly covered ground in what little time had gone by. How she didn't get herself shot up was beyond Tali, but as long as they got the job done, she wasn't about to start complaining. The explosions let up for a while, just in time for the two women to see that most had gathered around the door leading to the server room, their pistols doing little to make the metal barrier budge. Tali was able to get one of the doors to stop opening, though the other seemed too broken to hack. After a moment, she didn't have to when Shepard somehow spotted Terri running through a hallway along the wall behind a layer of thick glass. Skidding to a halt to look right at them, the woman's flustered look of concern almost wasn't needed.

"Terri what-?" she began to ask before the other woman cut her off.

"TIME TO GO!" they both heard her yell over the comm., all calm and confidence replaced but pure panic.

"But how did-?"

Practically waving her hands at them, Terri scowled angrily from where she stood, her voice still coming in a panicked yell. "Jumped through a window! No time! _Go now!_"

Shepard didn't have time to say much else as Terri vanished, clearly running like the world was going to end. Looking down, she saw why: the mechs had stopped wandering about and were shaking. The only real warning she had was when one of them finally spontaneously exploded, some around it soon following. Helping Tali down as they headed back the way they came was all a blur, Terri appearing from an adjacent corridor as they all ran for the entrance. All three moved as quickly as their naturally thin but strong legs could take them. Even as the facility began to explode and burst into flame, all three had managed to make it to the shuttle in time to fly far away enough to avoid the blast. Sitting back in their seats as their pilot took them back up towards the _Normandy_, all three women sat silently getting their breath back.

Halfway through the planet's atmosphere and up into space for pick-up, Terri looked at them both with the same grin as before. "Well that was fun. You guys do this often?"

And done! Sorry for the delay people but it's been hectic and knowing me I was bound to get this done sooner or later. Hope you guys haven't suffered for too long. Anyway, read, review and I'm sure to get back to anyone who posts. Without further ado, here's what's to come:

Next Chapter:

Chapter 4: Citadel & Secrets

It's been over a week since Terri joined, and all's gone well. But not for long. With the new arrival comes new challenges and the revival of past battles. What lies in store for Shepard and the _Normandy_ when a simple resupply goes horribly wrong? Find out when '_Fidelis Mucro_' returns with a whole new twist in:

_**Chapter 4: Citadel & Secrets!**_


	4. Chapter 4: Citadel & Secrets

Hey all! Blue here with a new chapter for my latest ME fic, '_Fidelis Mucro_'! Hope you guys have enjoyed it so far and I thank you all for your devotion and support. With that said I won't waste time and just say I don't own '_Mass Effect_' in any shape or form. Although I can't wait for ME3 to come out! Here's hopin'! Enjoy! (A/N: All possible errors and modifications have been corrected/dealt with after another read-through. Thanks for your time!)

"Iii" = speech

_Iii_ = thought

"_Iii_" = radio speech

Chapter 4: Citadel & Secrets

Seeing the Widow Nebula again after so long was a welcome sight to Shepard and the crew. A sight all of them were happy to see after seeing nothing but black sky, thankful for a break from the constant work and travel. Standing in the corridor leading to C-Sec headquarters, Shepard, Garrus and Terri waited patiently as Sergeant Haron scanned them. The turian eyed Terri's cane for a moment, only to be met by a hard stare from ice blue eyes, forcing the alien to look away. Even as the door opened and he let them through, his usual polite dismissal hinted that the woman's expression had shaken him. Nodding at Bailey as they headed into the bustle of Zakera ward, Shepard turned to Terri with a curious look on her face.

"Did you have to spook him like that? He was just curious."

Terri's mouth curled to something resembling a snarl, her scowl showing her displeasure very clearly. "'Just curious' can get you into heaps of trouble sometimes. I've been stared at enough in my life to warrant a bit of privacy. Besides, it's not every day a member of the handicapped wanders into view."

"Can't you just get your leg fixed? It shouldn't cost too much for a proper surgery." Garrus immediately regretted his questioning her when the woman turned her angry expression his way.

"Even if I did there's nothing there to work with. Hacking up my leg just to patch a problem isn't always the solution. Besides, I'm pretty resigned to havin' this thing in my hand even if I die holdin' it. This isn't something surgery can fix." Terri growled, holding up her cane for emphasis, practically shaking the thing in his face.

Seeing now that they had treaded into an off-limits topic, Shepard quickly cut in before things were sure to spin out of control. "Sorry Terri. We're just concerned. That's all."

Relaxing just slightly, Terri nodded, the scowl losing its harsh edge. "Well this leg is the only flaw Chakwas and Mordin could find when they examined me and like I told you, it only bothers me sometimes. And when it does, I've got meds. Otherwise, are we hear for the stuff we ordered or not?"

"Sure… most of the things we need are being stored at the warehouse below us. There are other things we need but they're minor and we only need small amounts." Turning her silver-grey eyes towards the other female, Shepard watched her patiently. "How'd you want to play this?"

"I'm game for what you think. Divide and conquer seems like a better plan." Terri said, her mood seeming to cool down, something both her teammates were thankful for.

"Well then, I'll leave you two to the running around." Shepard said calmly, though her slightly wicked smile said otherwise.

Almost appalled, Garrus could only gape at her. "What? Hayden what're you-?"

Eyes of silver grey fell on him like a predator's gaze. "Making sure you two can get along. I can go to the warehouse and make sure everything's in order there while you two go take care of the little things. Understand?"

"You can't be ser-." He began, the human woman quick to cut him off.

"I'm perfectly serious." Hayden growled sternly, her scowl telling him all too clearly she wasn't in the mood for an argument. "Don't make me order you Garrus."

Glancing at Terri, Garrus kept himself from scowling as said woman held back her laughter, her amused smile attempted to spread across her face. If Shepard noticed, she didn't show it as her silver grey eyes bore into him. And he knew Terri wasn't about to jump in to help him. Knowing he wasn't going to win this one, the turian just growled at his commanding officer. "You owe me for this."

"Oh do I now? We'll see. Now get going. We've got a few hours before we need to leave so don't waste time. Bye!"

Letting out a tired sigh, Garrus could only watch as his commanding officer/mate soon vanished into the crowds around them, leaving the two of them standing almost awkwardly in front of C-Sec headquarters. After a moment, Terri spoke up almost happily. "So boss, where to?"

"'Boss'?" he asked, confused. Why was she being friendly all of a sudden?

That almost devilish smirk graced Terri's lips, a bit too amused by his response. "Yeah! I'm the new guy, so I follow the senior crew. That's you. So… where to boss?"

"Alright, if you want to play it that way." Lifting his arm to activate his omni-tool, Garrus eyed the list objectively. "We've got upgrades and parts we'll need to look for, weapons that are new to the market we need to look into and a few other things. Aside from that, we're just browsing."

"Ah I see. Lead on then." She said calmly, a light smile gracing her fleshy, human face.

A little surprised at her laidback obedience, Garrus didn't hesitate to turn and start walking, his long legs closing the distance between where they'd been and the stairs. Much to his well-hidden surprise, she was able to keep up with him, not even out of breath when they reached the first store only one level down.

Garrus was taken aback by her calm expression and cool demeanor, his eyes and mind reminding him he was dealing with someone who was _too much_ like Shepard. But this woman wasn't Shepard. She was a stranger none of them knew any more than they knew any other stranger they met for the first time. The fact this woman was a rather distinct copy of his commander's mannerisms and persona, Garrus couldn't help but feel disturbed by it. Much to his relief, that was the only similarities the two women seemed to have: harsh words and harsh action followed by kindness only seen by allies. Both were fierce fighters and masters of their trade, though up to this point no one really knew what Terri's trade was. Much less if she could even fight. According to Tali, she'd taken on a various number of mechs by herself, but still had yet to witness just how she'd done it.

Just before they left the first store, Garrus nearly jumped when Terri seemed to practically snarl at him. Knowing he wasn't exactly helping himself, Garrus simply nodded and started walking again, this time at a more reasonable pace. The pair spent the next few hours going from shop to shop, browsing items and comparing prices, haggling when the numbers appeared too high. Much to Garrus' surprise, Terri even had the nerve to step in and deal when Garrus found he couldn't. To him, it was a saving grace and a strange act all in one. One minute she was angry with him, the next she acted like they were just teammates conducting business. He knew from Shepard that humans could switch opinions, thoughts and emotions within minutes, hours or days of an interaction of a certain nature but this was ridiculous. A thought that was greatly emphasized when he had to actually struggle to keep her from beating a rather young looking turian in front of a crowd of witnesses. In her defense, as she put it, for 'staring at her wrong'. A sentence he wasn't about to make sense of.

"You could've gotten arrested back there. What the hell was that all about?" he growled at her when they'd separated themselves from the crowd to rest briefly next to a wall.

Like he knew she would, Terri just growled right back at him. "I don't like being stared at like a museum piece. Clearly that guy needs to keep his eyes on people's faces, not their asses."

"And you know this how?" Garrus had to ask, a bit dubious of the accusation.

"I'm a woman you idiot. I know how eyes are looking at something they ought not to. Were you a woman you'd know too."

The turian could only shake his head. "That's not the point! The point is that you almost got into a heap of trouble over nothing but naïve curiosity. You shouldn't let things like that get to you."

Scowling in her own annoyance, Terri seemed to calm for a moment. "Hmph. Let's just go before we're late. Last thing we need is your girlfriend to get pissed at us."

"Just keep your head cool until we get back to the _Normandy_. I might not help you if you get C-Sec on your ass." He warned as they both moved to rejoin the surrounding crowd to head back towards the docks.

As if on cue, that mischievous smirk was back, making Garrus wish he hadn't seen it at all. "Oh wouldn't that be interesting?"

Garrus could only shake his head. This woman, despite her similarities to his mate, had her moments. Hell, even her smile was enough to tell him this human female was indeed nothing like his Shepard, his Hayden, his love. As they walked back towards the rendezvous spot they'd chosen, the turian had to admit that being with this woman for a day was an uncomfortable experience. Sure they'd gotten along and hadn't argued like he thought they would, but just being around her gave him an odd feeling of wariness. A feeling that maybe, just maybe, _something_ was wrong. That something was off about her, like he could somehow see what others couldn't. Yet, as he glanced at her easily walk/limping her way along, she didn't seem too strange like his mind kept telling him. Was it possible he was wrong? Were his instincts overreacting unnecessarily?

His thoughts were interrupted when something started beeping, Terri stopping to stare at her left wrist, pulling her jacket sleeve to reveal a band of silvery metal. Slipping her cane through a belt loop on the waist of her jeans Terri pressed a small square of blue light that appeared in the middle, flickering with the beeping sound. Tapping it a small blue holographic screen appeared along the woman's arm, the information too indiscernible for Garrus to make out. It was unlike anything he'd seen before, but it seemed too much like an omni-tool for him to see at strange. Its color and design confused him but he wasn't about to ask about it. After a few moments of watching her tinkering, he had to speak.

"Something wrong?"

Glancing at him, she pressed a few more buttons before the blue screen vanished, allowing her to look him in the eye. "Just a message from a contact. Apparently there's someone here who wants to meet me. I guess they didn't expect me to be here today."

"How soon do they want to meet you? I could come with you." He offered, deciding to take his job as her partner of the day to the limit.

Instead she shook her head, a grateful smirk coming onto her face. "Nah it's okay. Just some data I was asking for a while back. Shouldn't be too eventful but thanks. Give Shepard a call and tell her I'll see you guys aboard later. There are some stores where I'm going so I just might find some interesting stuff for you guys. Deal?"

Finally Garrus nodded, seeing her reasoning. "I can accept that. Just check in when you're done. Shepard wants to get underway as soon as we have all of our new stock on board."

"Alright lover boy. No need to get your pants in a knot. I'll be back in time for you two to have your candlelit dinner." The woman said with a devious snicker, that _damn_ smile already on her face as she started to walk away.

"T-that's none of your business!" Garrus called after her, stammering and flustered as very dirty thoughts passed through his mind unbidden. _Dammit._ He thought.

"Uh huh. Keep thinkin' that." Her laughter carried over the bustle of the crowd, waving almost mockingly. "Later handsome!"

If turians could blush, Garrus was sure he'd likely be beet red. This woman was nothing like his Shepard. But the fact some parts of their personalities were so disturbingly similar, it sent shivers down his spine. Just one Shepard was good enough for him. Watching the human female vanish into the crowds of Zakera ward, Garrus shrugged off his discomfort and continued toward the rendezvous point. As true to her nature as one would expect, Shepard was already there, staring around in an almost bored fashion before her eyes found Garrus approaching her. Her very human delight turned to confusion when she saw he was alone.

"Where's Terri?" she asked, her eyes making him shift almost uncomfortably.

"She got a message from some contact. Said something about having data she'd asked for who know when. I asked her if I should come but she said no. So now we either wait or go back to the ship until she calls saying she's done." Garrus managed to say, forcing himself to relax. It wasn't like he was telling on a friend.

Shaking her head, Hayden spoke with a level of disbelief. "Why not just call me and tell me this earlier?"

Garrus could only shrug, relaxing when no anger greeted him. "We were already on our way here when she got the call. Hell, she even said there were shops where she was going. Even offered to find us something interesting."

The concern leaving her face, those grey eyes he loved still gave him a curious look. "Hm. And you just let her go?"

"Should I have?" he asked. Oh how uncertainty was coming back.

"Did she say where she was going?"

"Not really no. Only that she'd call when she was done." Garrus said calmly, rubbing the back of his neck to ease away his fading tension. But some of it stayed, like he'd forgotten something important. "Why? You think there's something wrong?"

"Maybe. Let's wait it out." Hayden finally said calmly, stretching one of her arms casually before gazing away and to the side. "Have you been this way yet?"

For the next hour, the two talked about their finds, what they still needed and what they hoped to find while still looking around. They were halfway through their second hour when a C-Sec officer came up to them, a human male with fairly simple features.

"Commander Shepard?" he inquired politely, though he seemed nervous when Garrus began to stare at him a little.

Ignoring the man's discomfort, Hayden kept her voice equally level and polite. "Yes? Is something wrong?"

Focusing on her, the human officer nodded as he spoke. "Captain Bailey sent me to find you. Said it was urgent."

"Lead the way."

Within minutes they were at the C-Sec offices, Bailey sitting at his desk just like had been the first time they met him. Seeing them, his dark blue eyes widened with relief as he stood, a datapad in hand as he began to speak. "Commander, glad you could make it. We've got a situation in one of the lower wards that's really making some noise."

"And you need my help dealing with it. Can't you just handle it on your own?" Hayden had to ask. Garrus knew she was all for helping people, but sometimes you just needed a day off.

This wasn't to be one of those days as Bailey just shook his head, his expression darkening almost ominously. "I would but I saw something on the security vids I think you should see."

Holding up the datapad, he pressed a few keys so that a vid frame was visible on the screen. From the looks of it, it was a warehouse of some kind. In the middle of the shot, was a half blurry, half frozen image of Terri, her face hard and determined as she stood in what looked like a full running pose. Taken aback, Hayden couldn't help but exclaim. "That's Terri! What's going on?"

Taking the datapad back, the human captain just shook his head again, his gruff voice calm but somehow nervous. "I remembered she came here with you. It's been a long time since I've seen her here and I was surprised to see her with you. You must've really impressed her if she's following you around."

"How do you know her?" Garrus said suddenly, this new bit of information enough to motivate him to get more. Even EDI's background check had come up with practically nothing and now he was sure he was fishing.

Shrugging coolly, Bailey spoke almost thoughtfully. "She's a freelancer, but doesn't take jobs that include dirty dealing. Helped me and few other C-Sec captains take down some seriously bad people even before the geth attacks on the Citadel."

Garrus just shook his head, knowing that information couldn't be right. "If that's true I would've heard about her long before then."

"No, she and hers are too good and staying off the radar, even off news channels. I don't know how she does it but the fact she's stayed low key for so long is a miracle. But right now she's in trouble and I want to know why."

"So do I." Hayden said finally, her expression all business now. "She left to meet with a contact not even two hours ago. How long ago was this vid taken?"

Back in the mood again, the rough edge of Bailey's voice returned. "Almost 45 minutes at best. Whoever's chasing her is having a hell of a time. They've already blown up half of the boxes in two warehouses looking for her!"

"Can't your men move in?" once again, Garrus felt the need to butt in. something about all this just wasn't adding up.

The human captain just growled angrily at the question. "We've already tried! But these guys, whoever they are, keep trying to cut us down. More firepower than even we can handle. Whatever your girl was walking into, it's obvious now it was a trap."

"Just get us there and we'll do what we can." Hayden let Bailey walk off before tapping the comm. in her ear, its brief static ringing in Garrus'. "EDI, tell Thane to meet us at these coordinates. We're about to go in hot."

"_Right away Commander._" Chimed in the AI, the line quickly going dead soon after.

"Why Thane? Why not Miranda or Tali?" Garrus had nothing against the assassin. He knew the drell was skilled and polite, but thought he was almost stuck up. That and he'd caught him giving Shepard looks whenever she wasn't looking long before the two of them had gotten together.

Turning to face him, her face twisted with thought, Hayden just shook her head. "Thane said he has history with her. I want to know what we might be walking into."

Nodding in agreement, Garrus was almost reluctant to reply. "That makes sense. He probably knows more than Bailey does."

"Let's get going." She said, not waiting for his response before she started walking towards the transport terminal.

"Right behind you Commander." Garrus found himself saying casually, some of his confidence coming back.

It was practically a half hour later that Thane finally caught up with them, his dark eyes finding his human commanding officer almost instantly. "You asked for me Shepard?"

"What do you know about Terri? Anything at all will help." The question came so fast that all the drell did was blink.

"Is she in trouble? I'd imagine that's why she's not here."

Growing a little impatient again, Garrus cut in, knowing that Hayden wouldn't mind that much. They were talking to a friend, not a suspect. "Do you know anything about her contacts?"

Thane stared for a moment before responding, clearly choosing his words carefully. "No, she kept many things secret even as she began to trust me after we met. But she is the one who helped me hunt those who killed my wife."

Garrus and Hayden couldn't help but look at each other. This was news even to them. It didn't stop Hayden from speaking first. "She had access to that kind of information?"

"From what I know, she and her team are oddly resourceful. They found things that took some of my other contacts weeks to find in a few days. Even now I'm not certain how they did it, only that what they provided was unusually accurate." Thane paused, almost thoughtfully, a slight smirk coming to his scaly face. "They're even responsible for the upgrades I provided when I first joined with you."

"So they're tech savvy and know how to get things done. How come we haven't heard of Terri and her crew before?"

The smirk fell, his expression becoming almost too serious. "Unlike you and other such groups, they rely on stealth and anonymity to allow them to do things others can't. I don't even know how many she has under her employ, or what they look like. But all I know is a number of her associates are human."

Nodding in understanding, Hayden kept her face well schooled as she spoke to the drell. "She was called to meet a contact over an hour ago and now C-Sec has quarantined her and her attackers in the warehouses. From what we're told, they're tearing the place apart. Do you know anyone who might have it out for her?"

Some of Thane's cool air vanished, his body language quickly becoming tense. "I have no way of saying for certain. If you're correct, it's likely someone who's discovered her involvement and wishes to eliminate her. As of yet, many have tried this, but none have succeeded."

Annoyed, Garrus found himself talking before he could stop himself. "Something like that would be all over the extranet! No way something like that doesn't become known to the public."

"I wouldn't be so sure Garrus. These people, Terri's people, seem to have equal or better capabilities than the STG. From what I know, none of her working associates are salarian." Turning back to Shepard, his face seemed to take on a look of concern. "If she's in as much danger as you say, intervention is best done swiftly."

"We already figured that. What's the best way to find her if she's doing this on her own?"

The drell fell silent. So silent, the tension could be cut through with a knife before he finally began to speak again. "Terri is a survivor, she relies on her opponents to make mistakes so she can exploit them to the highest degree. Usually she can be merciless, but only if the victim is truly deserving of their punishment. She and her people always wait for innocent bystanders to clear out before making their move. This eliminates any chance of accidental injuries… and witnesses."

"So she makes sure it's all isolated? Why?"

"To be certain her enemy is in the dark as much as she is. Only she adapts better than they can. Turns their weaknesses into her strengths." Thane's grim look said it all. "She can be very dangerous, Shepard. I warn you to respect her reluctance to explain this situation. It's possible this incident is part of one of her many secrets."

"And you honestly don't know any more than that?" Shepard asked, concern written all over her face.

His face relaxing, Thane just frowned reluctantly at them. "I'm sorry Shepard, that's all I can say. Anymore, and I breach a very strict trust I have with her. And she will not be kind if we reveal I've said more than I should. Even if we don't, she'll discover it, and I will likely suffer a penalty."

"What kind of penalty? Will she try to hurt you?" Garrus had to ask. He liked the drell as a comrade, even if he did look at his mate in a fashion that displeased him.

"No. Nothing that drastic. Terri has made it clear that hurting me would be outside of her interests. But she will make her displeasure with me known in another fashion. I'm not certain in what way. Like you, she's a hard person to read."

Shepard nodded, seeing the reasoning in this. "Is there any way of knowing how she'll react to our involvement?"

"Likely with a mix of approval and aggravation. Terri is more comfortable with doing solo work, only involving others when they're needed at key moments. To say she'll be happy to see us might be a stressed way of saying her pride will not allow her to enjoy our presence."

"Does that mean she'll attack us? She does know we're on her side right?" Garrus found himself inquiring. This woman was more of a puzzle by the minute.

Thane shook his head, some urgency coming into his tone. "No, she won't attack. But she won't acknowledge us either. Her focus will be on her prey, and nothing else."

Looking at each other, Garrus and Shepard looked at their friend hesitantly, Shepard speaking cautiously. "You say that like she's some sort of animal."

Once again blinking at her words, the drell said nothing for a moment. After nearly a minute had passed, the drell just nodded. "Perhaps."

The taxi shuttle ride to the warehouse seemed to last forever, but only took roughly fifteen minutes. Even then everything was tense. C-Sec officers stood about, guarding the entrance with uncertainty in their eyes. Whatever was going on inside had truly spooked them, probably more than any civilian dispute should. Judging from the way some were gripping the grips of their guns, it was easy to see things were hardly civil. Shepard didn't even wait for the shuttle engines to cool before she was right in front of one of the officers guarding the door. Thane was quickly behind her, as was Garrus, all three staring at the poor man as he entered the code into the panel. From the way his eyes darted and his hands shook, anyone could tell he was scared. Likely out of his mind. Pushing this thought aside, all three simply gave the poor officer a kind nod before quickly walking in, guns already in hand. Once inside, the carnage was immediate: bullet holes, scorch marks and blood littered a small area of what looked like an office, dead heat sinks littering the floor. A few computer terminals were still active, as well as a power cell container stuffed in a corner that appeared to have some ammo still inside. A few bodies littered the floor, their yellow and black armor silently stating they were Eclipse mercs.

Letting out a sigh, Garrus just shook his head, blue eyes falling on his human commanding officer. "Looks like we really missed out Shepard. I don't think I've seen this many Eclipse on the Citadel before though. Wonder what they were doing here."

Thane, oddly enough, was quick to answer, rising from his own examination of the dead around them. "It's likely they had a contract with whoever wishes Terri dead. From the looks of it, they didn't stand a chance against her."

"You say that about a human woman who doesn't even have a _gun_! What could she possibly have killed all these mercs with?" Garrus exclaimed, finding the very notion unlikely despite the drell having shown he could do so even with a pistol in hand.

"This looks a little familiar." The drell commented as he held up a small dagger, its simple design and weight easily making it unassuming.

"Yeah but how many of those does she have? Thane?" Shepard asked as she too found another one, eyeing the smooth metallic surface with her equally silver grey eyes. Pausing to find the assassin hadn't answered her, she looked up at him. "Thane?"

Thane blinked, as if in thought, his words carefully chosen. "I cannot answer something I know nothing of. Even how she acquires these is a mystery to me. One can safely assume, for now, she's using them on the mercs and not us."

"That's reassuring." Garrus grumbled in annoyance. Now wasn't the time to be dodging questions.

"Is there any reason why she'd use lethal force? And Garrus is right, how can one woman do this much damage and not have a gun?"

"I'm sorry Shepard. Terri and her group are very secretive and though they've revealed a number of them to me, I'm sworn not to speak of them unless it's allowed." Thane said calmly, his tone showing he truly regretted not being able to speak openly. "Another contact like myself tried to reveal their secrets to a number of people as a threat."

A pause. Only a moment went by before Garrus cut in, his flanged voice hinting at curiosity. "And?"

"He vanished. Not a hair to be seen or heard again. All trace of him vanished. I asked Terri about this and she said she'd ask around. When she did get back to me, all she said was that the man had proven unreliable and since his threats proved valid…"

Shepard nodded slowly, a scowl coming onto her face, pushing some of her dark brown hair out of her face. "They took action."

"As a defensive reaction only. She's reassured me many times that nothing of the sort will happen to me." The drell responded coolly.

"And you trust her word?" Garrus asked, fairly dubious.

"She hasn't attempted to do so for as long as I've known her. The only reason she would lie would be to a target, not a friend."

"Just targets?" Shepard inquired quickly, a stern tone entering her voice.

Thane finally nodded. "I've yet to find a falsehood when she speaks to me, or others like me. Like you, she doesn't see the need to mince words."

"What can we expect?"

"Ruthlessness, possibly murderous rage. If this situation is as it seems, her need to survive will be in control. All logic will be beyond her until she's certain all of her attackers are dead or disabled." He paused, almost for effect, blinking with both sets of eyelids. His grim expression didn't relent. "Should we run into her and she doesn't necessarily recognize us, I will be able to guide you through what to do to so she does not see us as a threat."

"Will she really attack us?" Garrus had to ask, some awe in his voice. Could this woman really be as he says she is?

For the first time, Thane actually let a slight scowl cross his features, seriousness and concern in his voice as he spoke. "Pray that she doesn't."

The next half hour was a mess: crates stacked high acted like walls, the lower stacks all in disarray. More blood and bodies lay on the floor, some even flopped dramatically over crates in a last ditch effort to fend off their attacker. Guns and heat sinks lay on the ground around the corpses, undisturbed and cold despite the violence all around. Many holes suggested their fire had been mechanical, calm at first. The rest showed frenzied, panicked bursts of bullets, all of them either missing their target or not even coming close. One corpse, an asari with engineer specs in her suit, looked particularly abused. Upon closer inspection, it was obvious she'd been used as a shield against the onslaught of bullets. Odd thing was, one of her hands had been cut off completely, right through the armor and webbing of her suit. Another oddity was a puncture, surrounded by blood in her lower abdomen giving every indication she'd been stabbed by something. Looking around, none of them found the possible object that could've caused such an injury. A few feet away from the asari's corpse, they found her gloved hand, still gripped around a pistol with the heat sink empty but still in the chamber. From the firmness the hand still held onto the weapon, it was safe to assume that it still went off even after its user had lost it. That and a concentration of holes in a nearby crate showed the truth behind it.

More of the daggers, thin, simple and elegant were in the other bodies. Each hit their mark despite the armored suits between the blades and their targets. Another body, a skinny salarian with a helmet covering his head, lay on his side with a large pool of blood fanning out from beneath it. Thane knelt down, muttering a small prayer under his breath as he reached out, his gloved hand gentle as he moved the body. What they saw nearly made Hayden sick, Garrus letting out a guttural curse at the sight: the alien's head had been sliced through, blood and brain threatening to seep out some more, the cut pristine and precise. Even the helmet was cut clean through despite the extra layers to avoid such a thing. Only now, it looked like both helmet, skull and brain had been cut like paper under a very sharp pair of scissors. Whatever had killed the salarian, it'd been quick. A few more corpses showed signs of similar treatment, limbs and pieces cut clean off, others pierced cleanly but brutally. The whole scene just screamed anger, murderous intent.

"Are we going to find any survivors in here?" Garrus found himself asking, cerulean eyes staring at all the blood and gore in disbelief.

"Most unlikely. When Terri attacks this way, it's for survival and not profit. All she sees are foes where you see mercs making a living through illegal means. If they are dead, it's only because they were foolish enough to attack her. She only kills those who attack first." The drell explained with a tone of concern in his voice as he too scanned the bodies around them.

Turning to look at him, Hayden's silver grey eyes flashed almost dangerously. "So when she sees us…?"

"It's what you humans call 'tunnel vision'. Her focus will be on those who're out to kill her, not help her. Likely when she sees us, she might see more foes, or she might not. Whether her mind will let her remember that fact is unknown."

"You can't be serious…" Garrus muttered, lightly kicking away a gun that'd somehow been sliced into uselessness.

Thane nodded, his face going grim once more. "Perfectly serious. If we don't attack her, she will ignore us. Of this I'm most certain."

Concern was all over Shepard's face. "And if she doesn't?"

He paused, his double lids quickly refreshing his large, dark eyes. "Then you were wise to call me here."

"What does that mean? That you can kill her?"

The drell just shook his head, his words once again coming with an air of caution. "No, only neutralize her. Killing her would leave us without answers and her team with many questions. When one of their own falls, you can assume they won't be forgiving."

"And you can't tell us anything about who they are?"

"Nothing. Not if you wish for me to put both our lives in danger. Unless I have permission, I cannot speak of matters that they have deemed private or secure."

"Sounds paranoid to me." Garrus muttered again, sounding dubious.

Thane just glanced at him, his expression perfectly serious. "Paranoid to you, overly cautious to them. If we have a chance to meet them, you might change your mind."

Blood was practically flooding the place, the different amounts and hues starting to mix together at the edges as they found more bodies. After the last two groups, they expected this new scene to be no different. It wasn't until they turned the corner cautiously that they discovered otherwise. While all other bodies lay on the floor, another was seated limply in an office chair, head tossed backwards where it'd likely been allowed to. Anyone else, and someone could easily believe the Eclipse merc was just napping. The slashed throat was a dead giveaway, as was the blood that had begun to dry on the merc's armor. Red blood of the dead human male discolored his black and yellow armor even more so when small punctures could be easily distinguished from the indentions between the different layers of material. From the way his face was stuck in an expression of horror, fear and pain, it was obvious he'd been tortured. Another man lay on the floor not too far away, appearing to have likewise been interrogated, was another story completely. More of the holes like the one in the dead asari from before were clear as day, multiple times in his legs, some in his arms, one final strike to the neck. Closer inspection told them the weapon had gone straight for the jugular. His expression told he too had been mutilated until the last moment.

Hayden, despite her professional look, was beginning to look green. "How can one person do all of this? Isn't this a bit excessive?"

Standing next to the seated body, Thane found himself just shaking his head at the question. "Terri is moving with a natural primal instinct. It's only her training that makes her even more dangerous than anyone. So much so she's quite unpredictable."

"But why kill them this way? It's obvious none of them stood a chance." Garrus said, cutting in, his mandibles flexing nervously. This much carnage was putting him on edge.

"From the way these two men are positioned, I can only assume they were officers. She must've tracked them here and attempted to discern why she's become a target." The drell said evenly, his voice soft but controlled. As if he were trying to hide his astonishment. "Judging by all of this, she didn't enjoy their answers."

"Do you know of anyone in particular who could be after her? Might want her dead in a real bad way?"

Finally the drell looked up at her, his dark eyes swimming with mixed emotions. "That list is long Shepard, but I can only assume, from how many mercenaries we've seen that it's someone with sufficient funds. Likely a very ambitious and ignorant person if they think this will be enough to slay her."

"Is it though?" Shepard asked, watching the drell carefully.

A long pause, filled with dark eyes back on the seated corpse before him. "…. No."

"That's reassuring." Garrus sighed from the side. Neither of his comrades looked at him.

Letting his remark slide, for the moment, Shepard kept her focus on Thane. "You have to know who would want her dead this badly. Can't you think of anyone?"

"Only one: Marcus Koehler. A human scientist that she's been investigating intently recently. Why I don't know, only that Terri finds some of his practices… suspicious."

This information was enough to make Garrus a bit more interested, his cop instincts kicking in as he spoke. "Like illegal organ collecting, cloning? Or something worse."

"I don't know. Terri only tells me what she feels I need to know, and how I might help her with it. Anything else she keeps to herself." Thane said, almost sounding tired, shaking his head as he looked back up as his comrades. "This is the most angry I've seen her. I can only imagine what has been done to enrage her this much."

Nodding in agreement and understanding, Shepard's face lost some of the ill coloring as she regained some of her composure, despite the gore around them. "Well let's hope she's calmed down when we catch up with her."

"One can only hope for that much Shepard, but I share your optimism. We must move on if we're to catch her."

Sure enough, they traveled further into the warehouse, more busted boxes and crates telling where the person they sought had travelled. After a few more minutes of walking, the sound of gunfire attracted their attention, making them draw their guns. Taking cover before some still intact crates, Shepard gave both men the signal to move ahead with her not far behind only to duck as bullets whizzed past them. Before them, Terri stood plain as day with her back to them with what looked like a sword in her right hand. Several Eclipse mercenaries were positioned opposite her, popping in and out of cover to shoot at her, only for the ammunition to bounce off some sort of shield. Their impacts seemed to just bounce right off, flashing in brief sparks of light blue light. As more bullets were shot, the human woman didn't even flinch.

Before either could stop him, Thane was up and pointing his pistol at the mercs, calling above the gunfire. "Terri!"

The next few moments went by in what seemed like only a few seconds: some of the crates, heavier than any human could lift quickly floated into the air and soared in their direction, missing them by mere inches as the three of them ducked to avoid them. A few of the mercs weren't so lucky, their mangled bodies leaving behind smeared blood across the warehouse floor. Their screams were quickly cut short as they died. Gunfire filled the air as the remaining Eclipse mercenaries desperately shot at their target in a panic, more crates levitating to catch the bullets instead. With a roar of rage, Terri's raised hand encased in what looked like light blue light or flames glowed a little brighter, sending a few more of the crates at her attackers. The odd energy vanished quickly as she turned back to her remaining prey. What few remained were cut down soon after as the human woman moved with a speed even Garrus was sure no human should possess. Swinging it with almost artful precision, its movement only a flashing trail of silver through the air, she swung her sword up and through the arm of a panicking salarian. Ignoring his look of shock and cry of agony, Terri simply brought her other hand up, dagger in hand and stabbed the skinny alien in the neck. As he went down drowning in his own blood, Terri was already through with her two other victims before they had a chance to react. Another merc could be seen running, gun forgotten and pace struggling to find a way out. They never found it. The same small dagger that'd killed the salarian, still slick with his green blood, was sent twirling through the air to stick itself in the neck of the escapee. The human fell, gasping and bleeding, hands trying hard to stop the spurting blood and failing miserably. He soon fell still on the floor.

"Terri?" Thane inquired calmly, keeping his voice low as though it would startle her were it any louder.

For a moment, the woman didn't move, her dark blue denim clothes making it easy to see she didn't fit with her surroundings. If not for the blade in her hand, Garrus was sure he'd mistake her for just another civilian. And from the way it was covered in the blood of the fallen, only proved how deadly she was. Without a word she raised the sword before bringing it back down in one swift stroke, the remaining blood flying off easily. Inspecting the long blade almost casually, Terri still didn't move, her back still to them. From the way Shepard seemed to fidget out of the corner of his eye, Garrus was sure she was just as anxious as he was. Only Thane didn't move, didn't speak, keeping his dark eyes fixed on the person before them. After what seemed like forever, she finally began to turn around, her sneakers making a wet squeaking noise in the blood that was pooling around her.

What they saw next took them all by surprise: Terri looked exactly as she had only a few hours before, only now she was different. Blood, likely from an asari by its color, was clearly splattered across her right arm, shoulder, chest, all the way to her neck and face. But that wasn't all. Her face almost seemed different. Expression oddly blank, her eyes seemed to flash with mild recognition to the people before her. Only her eyes were… wrong. Despite the ample artificial lighting, even they could tell the pale blue irises glowed dangerously. Gaze intently focused on them, Terri was about to speak when a rather scared looking salarian popped out from a scattered pile of crates, pistol in hand.

"Don't move! Or I shoot her." he warned, eyes darting between them all as he held the gun rather unsteadily to Terri's head. Terri, still calm and fairly blank faced, just proceeded to stare at her supposed captor.

Her own gun raised, Shepard watched the alien and spoke as calmly as her voice allowed. "Calm down! Just put the gun down and we can talk about this!"

"Talk? Talk is something this… this monster hasn't let us try out from the start." The salarian was practically screeching, his voice high with barely contained panic. Terri's calm staring wasn't helping either. "I'm walking out of here, well and alive, and she's going to let me."

"Just tell us what happened and then we can negotiate." Shepard said coolly, not lowering her gun, hoping her tone would be enough to calm the alien down.

Before anyone had a chance to say much more, Terri moved. Swift and smooth like a well-practiced dancer, her left hand came up and smacked the gun away from her head. In shock, the salarian pulled the trigger, the shot going wide as the pistol was sent flying out of his small grip. Twirling expertly so the blade came up and successfully knocked away, her left was back and wrapping her blood and glove covered hand around the alien's soft neck.

"What the-?" the salarian was barely able to say as the grip on his throat tightened.

When she finally spoke, it was with an ominous malice that sent shivers through the room. "Found you."

"Wha! Ack!" Large eyes blinking some more from panic and confusion, the salarian was trying to speak again only to be lifted into the air.

A little taken aback by the sudden hostile action, Thane stepped forward, hands raised and speaking in the same calm tone as before. "Terri put him down!"

"I've been looking for you, damn weasel." Terri snarled to the alien mercenary in her grasp, clearly ignoring Thane.

Like before, Thane moved a little closer, trying to intervene. "What are you-?"

Clearly with barely contained rage, ice blue eyes rounded on the drell, stopping him before he could do more. Her voice, cold, strong and even, rang into the air like a bell on a cloudy day. "They have Kolyat!"

"W-what? When?" Thane managed to say in shock, double lids blinking with disbelief.

Turning back to her captive, who shivered under her gaze, Terri's tone didn't change. "Not long, if this little bastard talks."

"B-but you killed everyone else! They knew more than I did!" the salarian stammered, eyes darting between the people now surrounding him.

His words only made Terri's eyes flash dangerously. "That's not true and we both know it. You're the leader here, only you're just too cowardly to face a real opponent. Your lackeys are dead and now it's just you. Play your cards right and I just might let you walk out of here with everything still attached."

"W-we just thought he was a random drell! That's all." He exclaimed, his words rushed as his feet were finally set back on the floor. Terri still had yet to release her grip on his throat.

"A likely story. One I'm not about to just up and believe. Give me a good reason why we should believe you." She snarled, mouth in a sneer as she continued to stare him down.

Hands fumbling with a hidden pocket in his armor, the salarian managed to produce a datapad, its glowing yellow screen illuminating both their faces. "H-here! It's where we were ordered to take him! I swear it's the truth."

Finally dropping him, Terri allowed Garrus to snatch the pad, watching the salarian rub his throat as he stood back up. "If you're lying, I'll make breeding rights and contracts the least of your problems." She said, pausing as something seemed to come out of her left sleeve and into her hand. "And one more thing…."

Before anyone could react and in one swift motion, she'd struck at the alien's face, leaving a thin line for green blood to flow freely from. Shocked, the nameless salarian just stared, holding a hand to his now cut check. "Ow! What was that?"

Holding the now bloody throwing dagger between them, eyes burning with burning wrath, she spoke in an almost whisper. "A reminder, of sorts. You'd be surprised just how this little thing can make things so interesting. Step out of line like this again, and it'll be your head rolling, and not your buddies."

"I get it, I get it! I'm going!" the salarian said quickly, wasting no time to run off and vanish around a corner. Watching the merc leave, the human woman quickly pocketed the blade, obviously for her own purposes later on.

"Sneaky little bastard." Terri muttered before finally facing them fully. Her anger now at bay, Terri finally smiled at them. "Smart to bring Thane here Commander. I certainly didn't want to tell him about this later on."

"What's going on? And where's Kolyat?" Thane asked quickly, fatherly concern taking over, his cool demeanor shattered.

Terri just nodded to the datapad Garrus was clearly already poking through, his talons quickly pressing buttons as his eyes practically at the information. "This datapad should tell us. I've been hunting this group for weeks. We thought they might have ties to the Collectors but so far their financials are just to various… discretional agencies."

"Didn't you say you were meeting a contact?" Shepard asked, giving the datapad a curious look before turning her attention back to Terri. Looking now, her cane was back in hand where it belonged. But where had the sword gone?

This thought was soon gone as Terri was talking again, this time with some of her ire back in her tone. "I did! Only these damn mercs showed up! My contact got away in time before the security lockdown. He's already assured me that he'll do what he can to find Kolyat."

"How long has he been missing?" the drell demanded, all professional and polite mannerisms gone. "What are you hiding Terri?"

"Thane, this isn't something I would dance around. Even you know that. Watch what you say to me about all of this." Taking a calming breath, she went on, keeping her voice in check as she spoke. "Last I heard, they managed to get him to the docks but someone tried to delete the records. My guys are working on it right now. I stayed here in case these idiots kept the information."

Shepard looked to Garrus, who looked up from his work. "Does it say?"

The tall turian just shook his head sadly. "Not much. It's really cryptic. We'll have to have some techs look at it."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Terri just nodded at the news. "Like I said, I'm doing all I can."

"I'm sorry Terri. I didn't mean to snap at you." Thane said softly, his voice mirroring to them the misery he was suddenly in.

An assuring smile on her face, she brought a hand up to pat him on the shoulder. "This is stressful, mostly for you since you're the victim as much as Kolyat is. We should get back to the _Normandy_ if we have any chance of catching up with these bastards."

Taking another look around, Garrus could only chuckle lightly. "What about all this? You can't just walk away from a bloodbath like this."

Some of the anger returned, but lacked some of its fire. "And waste time with C-Sec? Like hell! This was all self-defense. Every camera in this place will prove they shot first before I attacked. If Bailey has a problem with that, he can kiss my ass." Glancing between them, Terri looked at them expectantly. "Or would you rather we just stuck around here while a bunch of kidnappers get away with an innocent kid?"

Thane hated looking pitiful but his expression was damn close to begging. "She's right Shepard, who knows what they plan to do to him?"

Nodding, Hayden found herself finding the reasoning in their words. "It'll be okay Thane, we'll get Kolyat back. I promise."

"Hunting down mercs to mysterious destinations with low odds of success?" Garrus chuckled almost wholeheartedly. "Old times indeed Shepard."

Back to being all business, Hayden let her silver grey eyes bear down on her fellow female human. "How long before your people get back to you on where that ship's headed?"

"A few hours tops. Which means we've got to get out there, and now. I don't want to give these monsters more of a chance of getting away." Terri said, her own tone matching Shepard's no nonsense tone of voice.

"Then we need to get moving. We'll have our techs and EDI take a look at the data on that holopad while we're at it."

Nodding in turn, Terri's mysterious smirk was back in play. "On your lead, Commander."

Explaining to Bailey what'd happened took longer than they would've liked, but it was necessary to keep them from being delayed longer. Most especially since they told him of Kolyat's sudden disappearance and kidnapping. The human captain looked shocked, but was soon taking the information seriously when he was told by another officer none had seen the drell for hours. After nearly an hour of routine questioning and data collecting, they were finally released and allowed to leave the Citadel. None of them wasted a time getting a shuttle back to the docks and back onto the _Normandy_. Once sure all of their purchases from earlier in the day were aboard and accounted for, Shepard didn't waste time to give the order to disembark and head for the mass relay. All of them fell into their duties, letting work take their minds off of the possibility of a young life being cut short for a reason none of them could think of. All they could do now was wait.

Somewhere in the belly of the ship, shifting quietly through the dark, a form moved with ease and deadly prowess. Nearly a deck above, Terri sat on a crate, clean of the blood and gore of nearly an hour prior. Instead of drawing as usual, the human woman sat… and stared. Stared at a part of the floor before her, her eyes seeming to move with the form that it seemed, for now, only she could see.

And finally done! I'm so sorry it took so long. My inspiration kept coming and going but finally it's all done. Excited? I hope you guys are. This is about to get fun. I guarantee it. Now to avoid further delay, here's what's to come:

Next chapter:

Chapter 5: Secrets of the Dark

Kolyat's missing, Thane's worried, and everyone seems to be on edge. And what's the odd shadow hiding somewhere on the Normandy? What is it and what does it want? Only time will tell as we begin to see:

_**Chapter 5: Secrets of the Dark!**_


End file.
